The capacity-building role of community liaison workers with refugee communities in Victoria, Australia

Karen Wei, Prem Chopra, Susie Strehlow, Mardi Stow, Ida Kaplan, Josef Szwarc, Harry Minas

A range of services within Australia and internationally have been developed that are focused on the engagement of individuals who are of refugee background to work as a liaison between their communities and mental health services. The Community Liaison Worker (CLW) role at the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (VFST) was developed in 2008 in order to engage in such capacity-building initiatives. To review and document the establishment, evolution and current status of the VFST CLW role, and examine the perspectives of CLWs on their role in trauma-informed community capacity-building. The study comprised of two stages: a historical case study of the development of the CLW role, and a qualitative research study based on interviews with CLWs in order to identify key themes regarding various aspects of their role and understand the facilitators and barriers to their work of trauma-informed capacity-building with their respective communities. The CLW role has evolved from the provision of direct services through joint work with Counsellor Advocates at VFST to a broader role that is focused on building the capacity of community members. Thematic analysis of interviews with the seven current CLWs identified the complexity of their dual role as members of their community and employees of VFST, their role in addressing short-term goals to meet community needs, and the long-term objective of empowering their community to become integrated and self-sufficient. CLWs at VFST demonstrate important work of liaison workers in facilitating trauma-informed capacity-building initiatives that are of benefit to members of their communities and also to service providers.