Danielle Manton works in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to ensure that their voice is heard at UTS, and in the wider community.
Danielle Manton
A proud Barungam woman, her ancestral country is in inland Queensland where her grandmother grew up. Although she is not so connected to her own country, she feels a strong connection to the Dharug land in Western Sydney, where she grew up.
“My work is about the importance of Aboriginal leadership, privileging Indigenous voices and contributions, to influence change in workforce practices and experiences for my peoples” Danielle said.
For one day a week, she works with the Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Residential Rehabilitation Network (ADARRN), where she offers support at a grassroots level, and receives connection for teaching and research.
As a part of this work, in collaboration with Aboriginal residential rehabilitation services they have developed a model of care for service delivery.
“The work is massive,” Danielle said.
“The push is to try and get mainstream services to recognise and value an Aboriginal model of delivery is beneficial for all clients."
“There is a lot of pain and trauma, a lot of racism that’s both been highlighted, and hidden."
There is power in teaching and making sure that the next generation of graduates are informed and critical.
Danielle Manton
Her biggest motivator is her family – her child, nieces and nephews.
“I don’t want them to go through the same thing that my ancestors when through, and that we are going through at the moment,” she said.
Her message to colleagues in the Faculty of Health at UTS is to use training opportunities to get on-board and embed Aboriginal perspectives in all work.
“Within the faculty there are few Aboriginal staff which is gradually increasing” she said.
“We still have a long way to go, but I am excited by this progress. We do need the non-Indigenous staff to come on the journey".
The research, which is yet to be published, has identified nine key elements for health programs.
These are:
- Culture is the core of healing,
- Care must be culturally aware and appropriate,
- It must be holistic strength-based healing informed,
- It must feature person-centred approaches,
- Offer flexible healing and therapeutic options,
- Be based on evidence-based approaches,
- Have a skilled and diverse workforce,
- Make full use of partnerships and collaboration,
- Have embedded evaluation and continuous improvement.
Find out more
For more information about our research impact in the Faculty of Health or for collaboration opportunities, contact:
Professor Angela Dawson
Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Health
E: Angela.Dawson@uts.edu.au
T: +61 (02) 9514 4892
PO Box 123 Broadway NSW 2007 Australia
