CHAT Cairns Hepatitis Action Team
“I’m proud of our accomplishments, proud we are a loud voice for hepatitis, and even prouder of the kinship and caring support network we have created”
Jaye
“CHAT has taught me the meaning of resilience: the ability to accept and adapt to challenges, to gain strength and accept support from those around us and to speak out and take action on issues that matter”
Morag
“Little did I know what a profound effect this group would have on me,on a personal level“
Karen
“CHAT has been a wonderful boost to my self -esteem and self-confidence”
Kathy
ABOUT US
The Cairns Hepatitis Action Team (CHAT) is a group of people who are affected by either hepatitis B or C and we are passionate about making positive changes for all people living with viral hepatitis.
As the ‘A’ in the name suggests, CHAT is not a support group (although we do, of course, support each other) but mainly a team of action heroes. You might want to join us!
Our aims are to:
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increase community awareness of hepatitis B and C
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combat stigma and discrimination
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advocate for fair access to treatment
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work toward change at the local, state and national level.
CHAT is facilitated by the Hepatitis Health Promotion position at Cairns Sexual Health Service and supported by the Regional Coordinator position there.
Our vision is resilience and we take a strengths based approach to achieve and maintain it. We value all of the things that contribute to resilience, including art and music.
This vision of resilience influences our communication with the public in that we encourage and value the strengths of community members, using a tone that is positive, resilient and hopeful.
We are bold and brave but our motto is fun first which acknowledges that we do this work in our volunteer time (we are not funded, but we do raise money to help our projects and activities).
Our fun first motto helps to keep stress to a minimum; shifts the focus away from hepatitis onto the physical and emotional health of the group and its individual members; and helps normalise life with hepatitis B or C for ourselves and the public.