Evaluation of an Aboriginal empowerment program

The Tangentyere Family WellBeing course was held in Alice Springs between March 1998 and April 1999 in response to increased suicides and attempted suicides among Aboriginal youth in Alice Springs and the surrounding region. A personal empowerment course designed to assist people to take greater control over the conditions affecting their lives, Family WellBeing places particular emphasis on quality parenting and relationship skills. Developed by a group of Adelaide-based Aboriginal people, the course specifically aims to address the effects of settler colonisation on the emotional health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. This paper provides an overview of the course, and describes and presents findings from an evaluation of the course.