In Australia, First Nations people are about three times more likely to have experienced financial abuse from a partner. CommBank’s second cohort of Next Chapter Innovation Partners features First Nations-led and Aboriginal-Community Controlled organisations that offer culturally appropriate care.
For Sono Leone Weatherall, a Butchulla and Gurrawa woman and the CEO of Strong Women Talking, the essence of her work lies in directing energy towards recovery rather than “crisis and response servicing” alone. Strong Women Talking was born in 2014, when Sono identified a gap in care provided for families experiencing abuse. “There wasn’t a culturally safe place for First Nations women to unpack their stories and lived experience or where they could take a journey of deep healing from the impacts of domestic and family violence,” she says.
“An important part of healing from trauma is staying connected. That’s what we try to create—a sisterhood.”
Gathering together
The organisation has since grown into something far more wide-reaching. “We’re a grassroots movement of sisters and aunties,” says Sono. “From seeing the need for education about the forms of abuse and the cycle of violence, Strong Women Talking has evolved into a beautiful, trauma-informed, eight-week Healing Journey workshop where we unpack different topics each week.”
Following the workshop, participants are welcomed into the Sisters Connect group, which meets regularly for arts and crafts as well as visits from special services that can empower women. This is a space to build relationships with others who have experienced abuse.
Staying connected
“I realised early on that you can’t just run an educational workshop alone,” says Sono. “An important part of healing from trauma is staying connected. That’s what we try to create—a sisterhood.” And that sisterhood is committed to the care it provides. “We also have Elders in residence. They run a program called Elders Connect, where they check on women who have disengaged from the group. That way, nobody falls through the cracks.”
Supporting healing
The impact of Strong Women Talking’s work is significant. “As the weeks progress, you can see such a change. Women come away with a lot more confidence. We’ve had women come in stuttering—in such a heightened state of survival mode—and over the weeks you see them come to life as they’re able to regulate and have a voice to let out their stories in a safe and confidential space with the sisters and aunties.”
Despite a community-led approach to care, a lack of funding limited how far the work could go. “We were a small organisation with just three to four women working part- time,” says Sono. “Today, Strong Women Talking has as many as 14 staff members.”
Committed partners
With CommBank’s Next Chapter Innovation partnership, the outlook is even better. “We can get so much more support,” says Sono. “It empowers and equips us to do the work we love.” The partnership has provided more than just funding; it’s also connected the organisation with a mentor who is helping bolster its strategic plan.
“We want to take the model we’ve built and be able to offer it into other communities—allowing them to lead the change as they see the need. We believe the new educational van we are building using the CommBank Next Chapter Innovation grant will be a great step towards that.”
For Sono, investment in grassroots First Nations-led initiatives is vital. “We’re trying to break the shame around talking about things that keep our women oppressed. Because every tidda [sister] deserves to know what it feels like to be safe, valued, loved, seen and heard.”