Voice of Hope Award Nomination

Congratulations to Waalitj Hub client, and proud Whadjuk Ballardong woman Lorraine Pryor! Lorraine is the Director of Voice of Hope, which was recently nominated for the 2024 Indigenous Governance Awards.

 Earlier this month, Voice of Hope’s Directors Lorraine, Shirley and Aunty Marie Pryor travelled to Brisbane for the Indigenous Governance Awards Gala and to be a Guest Speaker at the National Reconciliation Conference 2024.

 Upon returning from the national conference, the excitement continued when Lorraine received a call from BHP who generously donated $20,000 US Dollars to the Voice of Hope.

Speaking on her experience, Lorraine said “It was unbelievable. To be able to sit at that level and be recognised for our Indigenous governance at such an early stage in the business is mind blowing”.

Lorraine came to Waalitj Hub in 2022 where her Business Coach, Raylene Bellottie supported her to build on her knowledge and network with other Aboriginal business owners in achieving outcomes.

Raylene provided support knowing that this was a well needed community service for our Aboriginal communities, to empower women to fulfil their role as matriarch and take care of their families, and elders.

In the last two years, Voice of Hope has grown into a busy team of volunteers, readily available to provide much needed support and assistance to incarcerated women reintegrating back into community through a culturally appropriate wraparound support services.

“We’re an Aboriginal led service for our Aboriginal women and we come with that holistic approach for our women, because we know the different challenges and the barriers they face,” said Lorraine.

Recently, some of our staff had the opportunity to see firsthand the Walbrenninj Yorga (Healing Women in Noongar) workshop. Run on a weekly basis, it welcomes up to 40 First Nations women to yarn, heal and create connections and to provide support and strengthen those returning to community strong after being incarcerated.

Raylene spoke on Lorraine’s success.

“I feel proud to see what Lorraine has achieved, she is a community champion that dedicates her time in achieving impactful outcomes. Voice of Hope will continue to grow and develop with community and stakeholder buy-in. Through sustainable support, we will see transformation and social change for Aboriginal women in local communities.”

As a Waalitj Hub client, Lorraine says “I tell everybody, if you want to start a business up, they’re (Waalitj Hub are) the ones to go and see, because they supported me so much”.

Waalitj Hub is here to assist the Indigenous business sector to thrive in WA, providing support to First Nations people wanting to start, grow or sustain their business and are available to provide ongoing mentoring and support.

The Waalitj Hub supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanting to start, grow or sustain their businesses through a combination of in-house business coaching and access to professional support and is supported by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and Corporate partners. Find out more.