WHO IS TIRAAPENDI WODLI (TW)?

Video: Tiraapendi Wodli - community celebration, October 2023

Tiraapendi Wodli Background

In March 2018, a representative and independent Port Adelaide Aboriginal Leadership Group comprising 9 independently elected members came together as a group for the first time to start a visioning process to identify opportunities for improving the safety, health and lives of Aboriginal families and their children and young people, using a justice reinvestment approach.

This group is now known as Tiraapendi Wodli, meaning ‘protecting home’ in Kaurna language.

In December 2018, Tiraapendi Wodli released a ‘Priority Action Plan 2019-21’ which set out the overarching priorities, projects and key indicators for improving the safety, health and wellbeing of local Aboriginal families. These priorities were identified through a series of local discussions with Aboriginal community members and local stakeholders with a commitment to working in partnership with the Aboriginal community.

The inaugural Tiraapendi Wodli Action Plan 2019-21 focused on 4 key populations includin a) primary school aged children; b) young people; c) men and d) families accessing services.

The new Tiraapendi Wodli Leadership Group (2022-24) have commenced a process to review and expand priorities and actions identified in the Action Plan for the period 2023-25.

The Tiraapendi Wodli Theory of Change demonstrates TW’s ways of working including supports and services provided to community members at the TW Hub.

Australian Red Cross provides all backbone coordination functions (including project, contracts and financial management and human resources functions). Funding for Tiraapendi Wodli operations and programs is currently provided by the SA Government Department of Human Services, the Wyatt Charitable Trust and the Alcohol and Drug Foundation. Justice Reinvestment SA (JRSA) works in partnership with TW and Red Cross to raise awareness of the benefits of Aboriginal community-led JR approaches and to advocate for more JR sites in SA.

JRSA is also working with Tiraapendi Wodli and Red Cross to explore research support towards the implementation of an evidence gathering and evaluation strategy to assist Tiraapendi Wodli, the local Aboriginal community, Red Cross and JRSA to understand the strengths, opportunities and outcomes of the justice reinvestment approach in Port Adelaide to date and how this can be further developed in 2023-25.