Tweed Coast Psychology and Educational Programs
Meg Perkins first came into contact with people involved with the criminal justice system in 1991 while working as a prison psychologist at Wacol Correctional Centre, in Brisbane, Queensland.
She learned about the ways in which childhood trauma, learning difficulties, and, in particular, the intergenerational trauma and disadvantage suffered by First Nations people in Australia, can lead to school suspension, youth detention, and adult incarceration.
Since 2007 Meg has been organising conferences to raise awareness of these social and neurodevelopmental factors in Brisbane, on the Gold Coast, and now on the Tweed Coast in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales.
In 2015 the University of Queensland awarded her PhD entitled “Risk, Offending Behaviour and Young People in the Cook Islands: A Study of Cultural Resilience”. Meg continues to work towards the prevention of youth crime and the criminalisation of vulnerable young people by providing child and youth assessment services.
We Care: TRH Psychology and Cultural Consultancy Services
TRH Psychology and Cultural Consultancy Service is a leading NDIS provider for the Newcastle, Hunter, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, and Tweed regions with a reputation as a successful trauma-informed therapeutic care organisation. In partnership with We Care NSW ‘We’ focus on providing our clients and communities with high quality and culturally appropriate services that have a real impact on contributing to supporting individuals to achieve their personal goals and to build their capacity to participate fully in their community, education, employment and cultural activities.
Together we provide tailored NDIS psychosocial services including:
• Social and Civic participation
• Core support to assist individuals in building their capacity to attend to activities of daily living
• Accommodation to support individuals to live independently in the community
• Specialist Allied Health assessment and treatment services, specialist behaviour support to assist with the development
• Support to build, maintain, and improve your relationships with friends, family and other key support services in your life including school, TAFE, and providers of housing
• Support to connect with and coordinate the implementation of your NDIS plan and fee for service assessments including multi-disciplinary assessments for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Learning Assessments.
We provide supports to all members of the community and aim to be a provider of choice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people. This support extends to providing support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to transition onto the NDIS. We are fortunate to have the support of a number of Aboriginal services and the support of an Aboriginal workforce to support us in meeting this area of focus.
Pottsville Beach Neighbourhood Centre
Pottsville Beach Neighbourhood Centre (PBNC) is a generalist human services centre, primarily servicing people living in Tweed Coast and surrounding villages. PBNC has been operating since 2000 and has grown in its range of supports to reach people across the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
PBNC provides diverse services, programs, and events to address social injustices and reduce disadvantage. Its activities are designed to increase self-determination, cultural safety, community participation, wellbeing and connectedness.
Activities include:
Child, youth and family support: providing parenting education and tailored case supports – with a priority focus on young parents, families living with disability, families subjected to domestic abuse and First Nations families, and facilitated playgroups and peer group support with access to resources and assisted referral to additional specialist services.
Brighter Futures: for families residing within the Tweed Shire who are experiencing vulnerabilities, such as:
• parental and child mental health/trauma
• parental drug and alcohol misuse
• domestic and family violence
• parenting challenges
• child behavioural issues
Integrated community hub: for practitioners, educators, and co-located services to provide:
• child cognitive assessments
• distance education for NSW school students who are isolated or whose special circumstances prevent them from attending school on a regular basis
• mental health counselling
• legal advice
• financial counselling
• disability employment services
Assisted referral and material aid: for those experiencing financial distress and / or recovering from natural disasters and other challenges.
PBNC is committed to developing and maintaining community partnerships to achieve optimal outcomes for individuals and families. It is through an enduring community partnership for over a decade, cultivated by PBNC Manager, Angela Maxwell (pictured) and Dr Meg Perkins from Tweed Coast Psychology and Educational Programs, that a series of awareness-raising conferences have been held on the Tweed Coast. The Youth Justice 24: Prevention Not Detention conference is an example of this strong and valuable collaboration.
