The Champion #113 – December 2022

This issue:

1. Heesook Kim wins 2022 Hepatitis NSW Cheryl Burman Award
2. Hepatitis NSW peer Bindi Andrews awarded NSP Peer of the Year
3. 2022 Audrey Lamb Community Forum and Annual General Meeting
4. Hep B Community Outreach at Baulkham Hills TAFE
5. Vietnamese 2023 calendar with hep B messaging

Heesook Kim wins 2022 Hepatitis NSW Cheryl Burman Award

Heesook Kim, a lived experience community advocate speaker, is the 2022 recipient of Hepatitis NSW’s prestigious Cheryl Burman Award. The award is presented to an individual or team in NSW for outstanding work or achievements within the viral hepatitis sector.

The Cheryl Burman Award this year recognises Heesook Kim for her substantial contribution to improving the quality of life of people living with viral hepatitis.

Heesook Kim has shared her lifelong story of living with hepatitis B with the local Korean community and the people of New South Wales. Through sharing her personal story in the face of potential stigma and discrimination – which is all too commonly associated with hepatitis B – Heesook has earned the greatest of respect of many people in the sector.

In this she has become an inspiration for others living with hepatitis B and has contributed to supporting Korean people living with hepatitis B. Heesook has been strongly motivated to reach people who can benefit from better understanding of this lifelong illness so that it can be managed or treated and ensure people can live a long, healthy life. In doing so, she has become a public face for a highly stigmatised illness, yet, put simply, she has changed people’s hearts and minds.

Every time she has spoken to raise awareness, she has taken the risk of negative reactions, attitudes, and judgment. Yet, her authenticity and bravery in taking the messages out to the community has meant that thousands of people are now better informed, have access to testing and treatment if required, and know where to find information in language about services in NSW for addressing hepatitis B.

The barriers have been broken down by the urgency of her message to not delay regular monitoring for hepatitis B. The challenges of reaching people during COVID restrictions – those who are amongst ‘hard to reach’ communities due to language and cultural barriers – meant Hepatitis NSW had to work harder to overcome barriers. That is where Heesook’s generosity in sharing her story came in again, by participating in a video, in conversation with hepatologist and gastroenterologist Dr Alice Lee, to motivate people to get regular monitoring.

The video now has over 44,500 views since being posted to YouTube 18 months ago, clearly meeting a need for information that’s accessible and in language.

Hepatitis NSW CEO Steven Drew said, “By any measure, Heesook is a very worthy recipient of this prestigious award – now in its tenth year – demonstrating strong leadership and initiative in the sector. Heesook joins a growing list of leaders and champions of the NSW viral hepatitis community very much in the mould of our first President, community leader, Cheryl Burman in whose honour the award is named.”

Previous Cheryl Burman Award recipients >>>CLICK HERE

Hepatitis NSW peer Bindi Andrews awarded NSP Peer of the Year

The 2022 NSW Local Health District Harm Reduction Program (HARP) Forum, held in November, has recognised one of our peers as NSP Peer Worker of the Year. In addition to being one of Hepatitis NSW’s Community Peer Workers, Bindi Andrews is a Health Education Officer Peer Worker with the Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) HARP.

Bindi is known by her colleagues at SLHD HARP for her unwavering work ethic and ability to connect with some of their harder to reach clients. She nurtures an inclusive and caring working environment at the HARP and is continuously contributing in developing the service to better meet their clients’ needs. Her HARP colleagues describe her as “collaborative, dedicated and fearless” in her ability to advocate for the consumers served by SLHD in all areas of her work.

Bindi is currently involved in projects with SLHD HARP including Dried Blood Spot (DBS) Testing, Take-Home Naloxone, Health Promotion, and stigma and discrimination training.

Everyone at Hepatitis NSW is very proud of Bindi’s achievements, and thrilled at her recognition for her outstanding efforts and contribution as a peer worker. We are incredibly fortunate and grateful to have Bindi working with us since 2019 as Community Peer in our Peer Partnership Program.

2022 Audrey Lamb Community Forum and Annual General Meeting

The Hepatitis NSW 2022 Audrey Lamb Community Forum, including the Annual General Meeting was held on Thursday, 1 December. This year the event was conducted as a hybrid arrangement, face-to-face and online via Zoom.

Audrey Lamb Community Forum

Following a thoughtful and moving Welcome to Country by Aunty Joan Bell from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, this year’s Audrey Lamb Community Forum presentation featured Scientia Professor Carla Treloar (pictured), in conversation with Hepatitis NSW CEO, Steven Drew.

Carla is Director of the Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH) and the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC). She addressed attendees on how stigma and cultural expectation is likely to impact efforts to eliminate hepatitis B. The Forum was recorded, and we hope to have a transcript and/or video available in early 2023.

Annual Report and Service Statement

Our Services and Annual Report 2021/22 was launched during the AGM. This report gives a snapshot of our work and its impact, as well as describing the programs and services we provide for people living with or affected by hepatitis C and hepatitis B in NSW.
Read HNSW Services & Annual Report 2021/22>>> CLICK HERE

Hepatitis NSW Board

Following the 2022 Annual General Meeting, the Hepatitis NSW Board met to elect office bearers for 2023. Denise Jarratt was re-elected President, with Sally-Ann Joseph continuing as Vice President having taken over from Jae Kang earlier this year. Finally, Satyajit Patra was re-elected Treasurer to continue his very successful stewardship of our organisation’s finances.

Changes to the Hepatitis NSW Constitution approved by members at the 2021 increasing Board member terms to two years meant there was no Board member elections this year.

Continuing members in 2023 are:

• Kurt Brereton
• Alex Chidzey
• Maurice Giacche
• Tracey Jones
• Jae Kang
• Joe Lawler
• Carol Liu
• Rengen Parlane
• Alex Southcott

During the year Keziah Bennet-Brook stepped down from the Board. We thank Keziah for her outstanding contribution and unwavering support. Keziah’s insights, observations and passion will be greatly missed, but we are thankful to have had the benefit of her knowledge, experience and good humour for almost three years.

Hep B Community Outreach at Baulkham Hills TAFE

Hepatitis NSW participated in the Hello Doctor event held at Baulkham Hills TAFE in early November, together with Multicultural Health Services from Western Sydney Local Health District (LHD). The event increased awareness of, and demystified misconceptions about, hepatitis B among the TAFE students, many of whom are newly arrived migrants studying the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP).

The Hello Doctor event is an initiative of Jade Fan Project – which is a partnership between Hepatitis NSW, Western Sydney HARP unit, Westmead Hospital Storr Liver Centre, Western Sydney Multicultural Health Services, WentWest, and Australian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM). It aims to address the issue of hepatitis B among Asian communities living in Western Sydney through targeted community education strategies. The event runs every year, around October or November, at Baulkham Hills TAFE.

Hepatitis NSW held a successful hepatitis awareness stall, where information and resources are offered in local languages. Twenty people were screened for hepatitis B. Our bilingual workers used a short but informative quiz to engage with the students. Students who completed the quiz not only received a gift but also gave us an opportunity to go through the answers with them, which helped to further enhance their understanding of hepatitis B. We had over 100 gift bags full of our hepatitis B resources, and more than seventy quizzes were completed. Eighty percent of people responded in the quiz that they would encourage their family members to also test for hepatitis B.

Vietnamese 2023 calendar with hep B messaging

The Diversity Hub, in collaboration with Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS), has produced a 2023 Vietnamese calendar with hep B messaging. The calendar helps educate the NSW Vietnamese community on the significance of hep B and what they can do to protect their loved ones, families, and partners.

The calendar, which follows the Lunar calendar and includes public holidays and school holidays, provides messaging in Vietnamese, and encourages the community to test and treat for hep B.

The calendar also provides the phone number to the Telephone Interpreter Service and link to the MHAHS website where the community can receive information in Vietnamese.

The calendar was designed in partnership with Vietnamese community grassroot organisations, with design completed by a graphic designer from a Vietnamese background who was aware of the cultural aspects of design.

Six thousand copies were printed and distributed in partnership with Vietnamese community organisations, General Practice clinics that have high caseloads of Vietnamese patients, and Vietnamese grocery stores.

More information on the Vietnamese Hepatitis B Project, contact:

Wa’el Sabri, Senior Community Engagement Officer
Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS)
phone: 02 9515 1234
email: [email protected]

Download a copy of the Vietnamese Hep B calendar >>>CLICK HERE