Pictured above: Residents and staff enjoying the Kirinari Sydney Hostel yarning circle.
A yarning circle is a gathering place where people come together.
AHL hostel residents come from many different places so having a yarning circle provides a safe, culturally appropriate space for them to meet and ‘have a yarn’.
AHL actively seeks community partnerships, so in 2022–23, the opportunity to collaborate with 3 community organisations to create a yarning circle at Kirinari Sylvania Hostel in Sydney was not to be missed.
Aboriginal Children’s Advancement Society (ACAS), the Caringbah Rotary Club and the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council collaborated with AHL to plan and develop the project.
ACAS and Caringbah Rotary also chipped in to provide funding to top up a Commonwealth grant.
As a result, on 23 June 2023, the yarning circle was officially opened with a ceremony. It has become an important, culturally familiar space for residents to relax and socialise at the home away from home that is Kirinari Sylvania Hostel.
‘We are listening, we are hearing, and our voice is highly valued in a culturally safe environment as a family in the Yarning Circle!’ Student from Kirinari Hostel Sydney.