Women’s Healing Service

“Sisters doing it for themselves”

The Women’s Healing Service is the newest service from PICC. The WHS aims to support our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women while incarcerated and when released from the Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre.

The WHS’s activities provide trauma-informed practices, are holistic and culturally driven, and provide opportunity for empowerment and self-healing.

Through the regular Yarning Circle, the WHS works with our women to:

• to assist their reconnection to family
• to reduce their risk of reoffending and assists women to transition back into their community
• to assist them with parenting practices which are culturally focused and have positive outcomes for their families
• to ensure they receive information and education which allows them to make informed decisions
• to ensure they have a safe and supportive environment to enable women to participate meaningfully in the WHS’s programs

This program initiative is in response to the Queensland Parole System Review recommendations 18 and 27:

• 18. Queensland Corrective Services should deliver a greater variety of rehabilitation programs to address the specific and complex needs of women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners and offenders and increase the availability of those programs. 
• 27. Queensland Corrective Services should increase delivery and should develop new rehabilitation programs specifically designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

The statewide trial of women's healing services will run until the end of June 2021. 

For further information about the Women’s Healing Service, please contact the PICC Townsville office on 4421 4300.