Week 6: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1onZzhRrNtcpf9Zt1fQAlpVHvFfD-b7gq/view?usp=sharing 

Definitely! I found that in Australia, there is much more emphasis on work/life balance and managing mental health over productivity. We also have a free therapy service for employees in particular business fields, which also extends to their families who might also be impacted! 

Week Five:
What new skills and/or knowledge have you gained from your summer experience? Have you met anyone who has been instrumental in shaping/helping you conduct your project? Briefly, how has this person impacted you? What have you learned about leadership from this individual, and how might it influence your actions, work, and self in the future?

Throughout my summer experience, I have gained a greater understanding of how entrenched racism is in the Australian judicial system, but also that there are judges and lawyers, as well as activists, who are actively trying to change this. I have also acquired new skills in filing and using Actionstep, which is the online database we use for our legal matters. 

I have had the opportunity to meet so many inspiring people during my time at VALS. My supervisor, Dayle, the volunteer coordinator at VALS, has been instrumental in helping me conduct my project. She has been instrumental in allowing me to engage with every department at VALS and speak to lawyers about their work, as well as cheering me on whilst I work on my project for the Client Feedback Program. Dayle has taught me that part of being a good leader is being unapologetically yourself and creating a safe space for others to do the same as she fosters such a warm and welcoming environment for me and the other volunteers. This has influenced the confidence I have in myself, and I am learning to trust my instincts and ability more as a leader because of her. 

Week Four:
What challenges and/or difficulties have you encountered and how did you go about resolving them? Speak to a specific challenge you have encountered and some of the ways that you tackled the problem.

One challenge I have encountered so far is maintaining my mental health while dealing with the subject matter I see every day. Something we discuss a lot in the office is vicarious trauma, and how interacting with clients and learning about their traumas can negatively impact our own mental health. This is a problem I am currently facing, and though I have not completely tackled the issue, I have learnt how to cope better with the feelings I experience after interacting with clients and reading over files. A lot of the cases I read tend to be about substance abuse, sexual assault and family violence, which are all very heavy topics, and I have noticed that calling clients dealing with these issues and learning about the perpetual injustices faced by First Nations people on a daily basis does affect me mentally. The way I am learning to manage it is by taking breaks from work when I need to and talking to people at the office about it, as well as venting to my family when I need to. Talking to other people at VALS has been really beneficial to tackle this problem as they have all gone through it too, and the people still working there are the ones that have robust systems in place to support their mental and emotional health.

Week Three:
What does a typical day look like this summer? Aside from a narrative description, upload a photo, video and/or other media submission!

I head to my organisation's office everyday and work from 9am to 4:30pm. My commute is roughly an hour on the train each way which gives me plenty of time to read some great books! Each day I work at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service looks slightly different. On Mondays and Thursdays I work with the Criminal Law team going through old files and making sure cases have all their documents uploaded onto the online database we use. Though the searching for documents, scanning and uploading process is quite tedious at times, it is really interesting getting more familiar with how criminal law works and the types of cases we tackle. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays I split my time between Corporate Services and Client Feedback Program. In Corporate Services, I do work going through some really old files such as psych reports and determining if they can be thrown out yet, as well as designing a step-by-step guide for other volunteers in how to do our Client Feedback Program, which involves calling clients and determining if they need more support, such as mental health services or help from ACCHOs (Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations) while their matter is with us. The calls are also a great way for those clients who do need someone to talk with to have a yarn with someone about what they are going through. I have also done some work with the Policy team at VALS, which involved watching the Inquiry into the Victorian Budget Estimates for 2023-24 and taking notes for the team so they can use it in their policy projects. Overall the work is very engaging and everyday I encounter different things! 

Here is the link to a photo of the Inquiry into the Budget Estimates and the notes I was taking: 

Shared album - Charlie Hoskins - Google Photos

Week Two: 

If your project connects with your research from last summer, explain the ways in which in which it picks up on themes, issues, or questions that are important to you. How are you expanding on your project from last summer? How is your understanding of this topic evolving? 

My project continues the themes of settler colonialism, injustice and connection to land that my project last summer focussed on, but applies it to the present day. It is continuing to answer the question I have of how settler colonialism still impacts Indigenous communities. But, rather than looking specifically of the role of literature in telling us about the history of settler colonialism, I am instead looking at what legal cases show us about the current continuation of settler colonialism. My understanding of this topic is subsequently evolving. Though I know about how settler colonialism continues to impact First Nations peoples in Australia, my knowledge of how unjust the Australian legal system is towards Indigenous Australians is growing with every day I go into work. 

If your project this summer differs from your project last summer, has last summer's project influence your project this year, and if so how? If your project is different, what tools have you developed to help you work on this project? 

My project this summer differs from last summer as I am working in a legal-based setting as opposed to the world of academia. However, my project last summer and part of its focus on settler colonialism in Australia have heavily influenced what I am doing. First, I am doing quite a bit of archiving for the organisation, making sure that all of their legal material is in their databases and filing papers that cannot be thrown out yet, working with the lawyers and paralegals to ensure all their work is digitalised. My research last summer is helping me to get through a lot of files quickly and read over the information and analyse it quickly. This summer differs more tangibly from my last summer project as I also have a role in helping design and implement a program with our legal clients to ensure their mental health is tracking well. This involves interacting directly with clients on the phone, which is very different to reading in libraries. I have had to develop my ability to talk effectively to clients and identify when they need help. As most of our clients are in the legal system because of the lasting impacts of settler colonialism and the intergenerational trauma that ensues, I have been able to use my research and adapt it to understand better what our clients are facing. I have also been using my leadership skills, but more my ability to lead from the front.