Shania Giles is only six months into her role at our Network, but already her work is making a profound difference for Aboriginal children and their families. 

As an Aboriginal Care Navigator in our Psychological Medicine department, Shania is part of the Safeguards team, helping to support children and young people facing an acute mental health crisis. 

On paper, her role involves providing crisis intervention in the hospital, outreach care in the home and referrals to long-term support services in the community but for families like Aiden’s*, it is so much more. 

Shania first met Aiden at the end of 2024 after he presented to our hospital with significant mental health concerns. Being younger than most paediatric mental health presentations, and living with highly complex needs, Aiden hadn’t been able to access many community services, leaving his family feeling like they were out of options.

“When I met the family, they were hesitant to trust me. They have been let down in the past so it was hard for them to believe there were people who could help. I just had to keep reminding them that I was there for them, and that I was in their corner,” Shania said.

Over the weeks that followed, Shania played a key role in supporting, advocating for, and guiding the family through the system, ensuring they were connected with all the appropriate community support services. 

For Aiden’s family, it was one of the first times they’d felt supported by a service and felt a sense of trust in health professionals. 

“I wanted to make sure they left our service with the right support for their family to succeed. This meant adapting our model of care to what worked best for the family,” Shania said.

“It was simple things like swapping a phone call for a text message or email, and using telehealth rather than doing a home visit. These little changes made a huge difference.”

Almost four months on, Aiden and his family are in a much better place. They are engaged with the local Children and Adolescent Health Medical Service, have access to support workers in the home, and are connected with social workers and family therapists in the community. 

“Before they couldn't see the way out but now people are listening and are aware of them, they are excited about the future,” Shania said.

“Hopefully this is the start of an upward journey for them, and a journey towards getting Aiden back to a normal life being a child.”

Aiden’s family are one of more than 50 families to have been helped by Safeguards since its introduction last year. The early intervention program is one of the ways our Network is helping to close the gap in health equity between our Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations. 

“In my career, I’ve seen a lot of vulnerable kids who are not getting the help they need. I want to help be the bridge for that, and to help break down those barriers preventing Aboriginal people from accessing healthcare, particularly for mental health.”

"Aiden’s journey shows the impact when clinical teams and Aboriginal health teams collaborate on a young person’s care. Our advice on how to work with the family was able to help inform care, leading to better outcomes for Aiden and his family. This is how we can work together to close the gap”

*Names have been changed to protect privacy