The Culture Care Connect Suicide Prevention Team was awarded the 2025 Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healthcare Award at the National Rural and Remote Health Awards held in Canberra on Wednesday night.

The CCC team, based at the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress in Mparntwe / Alice Springs, is an all-Aboriginal, trauma-informed aftercare service supporting individuals, families, and communities across remote regions surrounding Mparntwe. Their work focuses on providing culturally safe, holistic support following suicide attempts, suicidal distress, or deaths by suicide.

CCC team member Wayne Clarke said he believes the CCC's "strength is that we're all Indigenous, and we make sure the space is culturally safe".

"When we respond to people, we don't bring it from a Western model," he told Rural Health Pro.

CCC team member Emele Radinitoga said the team genuinely cares enough "to go sit with people where they are".

"We've all been there at some point in our lives, so we can say, 'it's okay to be where you are, we just want to make sure you're strong enough to carry on to your normal'," he said.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, the CCC team supported more than 200 clients, delivering care grounded in the Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) framework. Their approach integrates cultural healing practices such as yarning, bush medicine, and Ngangkari support with clinical pathways, ensuring services are trusted, respectful, and responsive to local needs.

"It is a really hard role, but it's also rewarding. It can be sad at times...but it also brings a lot of happiness and joy. And, you know, working with the most vulnerable people within our community; it's just a really good feeling," Mr Clarke said.

Each team member brings experience, cultural knowledge, and strong ties to local language groups and kinship systems. Services are delivered wherever clients feel safe, on Country, in town camps, hospitals, or homes with no time limits and an open-door policy that honours the non-linear nature of healing.

CCC team member Rachel Abbott said "working in a culturally appropriate setting" the CCC team makes "sure the setting is right for our people, so they feel comfortable and listened to".

Mr Clarke said the team is a great learning environment.

"I'm learning about them, and they're learning about me. For me, it's about working respectfully; no matter what happens or what they say, just respecting that," he said.

The team said being non-judgemental is vital to their work; allowing people to say what they need to without feeling judged.

"We come here because we care. We turn up each morning because we care for what's happening in the community and the young people. And even when we check in on people every day, you can see they appreciate it. You can see it in their faces and their body language," Ms Abbott said.

In addition to direct care, the team leads workforce education, co-designs culturally responsive training, and advocates for systemic change. Their leadership in service redesign and community governance reflects a commitment to "sustainable, culturally grounded" healthcare.

CCC team member Sheena Abbott said the team is more like a "family".

"And we have the same passion that's helping others and letting them know that they are not alone; there is always help out there," she said.

The Awards organisers said the CCC team "exemplifies excellence in suicide prevention, walking alongside communities with humility, strength, and hope, and restoring wellbeing through culture, connection, and care".

The National Rural and Remote Health Awards were launched by Rural Health Pro in 2023 and celebrate the extraordinary efforts of health professionals and organisations serving remote and rural communities around Australia.

Taking place each November as part of Rural Health Month, the Awards bring together rural, remote and Indigenous health community members to pay tribute to their commitment and resourcefulness in the face of unique challenges.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN - 13 92 76

Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467

Lifeline - 13 11 14