A proud Wemba Wemba and Yorta Yorta woman from the Deniliquin area, she brings not just years of frontline experience, but deep cultural knowledge and compassion to her role as an Intereach child, family and community worker.
Through the Aboriginal Health Program, Aunty Jill works alongside First Nations families to support their health, wellbeing, and cultural identity - strengthening connections to each other, to culture, to country, and to the community.
“Families are extremely important,” Aunty Jill said.
“They’re the fabric of our community, our foundation. We need to provide for them, especially our children as they are the next generation.
“Through working with families and building trust, you can recognise when there is generational trauma and support them. While there’s no quick solution, healing starts with connection and better awareness.”
Aunty Jill joined Intereach four years ago, after many years working in Aboriginal communities in Victoria and NSW, in hospitals and health services.
She’s worked in areas of family violence, chronic disease prevention, palliative care and disability. She’s advocated for culturally safe care, transported patients to appointments, and stood beside them during some of life’s most difficult moments.
But the heart of her work is community - and what she’s building through trust and relationships.
“I don’t have a certificate or a university degree. I didn’t finish year 10. But what I do have is experience, support from my family and community, and a wanting to give back,” she said.
“I've been lucky enough to have a good life and a good family. Not everyone has grown up with that. I want to make a difference with them.”
Aunty Jill provides one-on-one support for families facing hardship or violence, health education sessions with local clinicians, and facilitates referrals to housing, aged care, counselling and legal support.
She runs free supported playgroups for Aboriginal children aged 0-5 and their families, using play as a vehicle for learning, school readiness, life skills, language and cultural connection, as well as community events.
Events like the Sisters Day Out where Aboriginal women from Deniliquin, Finley and Mathoura travelled to Moama last year to connect, share stories and engage in cultural and wellbeing activities, pampering, and lunch - all while accessing legal services and early intervention supports.
She also ran a women’s gathering in Deniliquin last year which brought together women from across the region to connect, learn, and heal.
The event included service providers, speakers on health and wellbeing, legal advice, business opportunities, and cultural activities, along with school students and community groups helping on the day.
Recognising the importance of engaging men, Aunty Jill also helped create a men’s committee, which initiated a men’s gathering at Four Post Camp in Deniliquin last year.
The event brought 36 men together to take part in cultural engagement, and confidence and skills building in resolving and preventing conflict.
Service providers were there to inform, Aboriginal comedian Kevin Kropenyeri kept the men entertained and a barbecue lunch was cooked by the local Lions Club.
“The feedback we received was so positive and they are wanting another one,” Aunty Jill said.
Her approach is always personal.
She partners with community organisations, health and legal services, government agencies and grassroots groups, and she visits new service providers in town to build relationships, so she knows who to refer families to.
She encourages young dads to come to playgroup. She helps mums write down their stories to publish a little book for their children. She creates moments of empowerment in everyday life.
But as much as she gives to families, the modest Aunty Jill is quick to point out how much she receives in return.
“I’ve learned so much from the families I work with,” she said.
“Some of them have had really hard lives and yet they show such strength and willingness to grow.
I don’t take that trust they place in me for granted. It’s an honour.”
With National Families Week celebrated last week, Aunty Jill’s work is a powerful reminder that support doesn’t always come with a title or a textbook — sometimes, it comes with a yarn, a cuppa, and a deep understanding of what it means to walk alongside someone.
“I just love the families I’ve met along the way. And I thank them. Because without them, I wouldn’t have the job I’ve got. That’s the way I think of it.”
For more information about the Aboriginal Health Program, go to https://www.intereach.com.au/service/aboriginal-family-health-program/.
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