About OCCC

Learn more about the people behind the Onkaparinga Compassionate Communities Collaborative (OCCC)

Healthy Cities Onkaparinga

Healthy Cities Onkaparinga (HCO) is the lead organisation managing the OCCC grant. HCO is a volunteer, non-government community-based organisation, first established in 1987, under the World Health Organization’s global Healthy Cities project.  HCO advocates for collaborative health promotion, recognising the impact that physical, socio-economic and cultural aspects of the environment have on the health of the community.  HCO works under the principles of the World Health Organization’s Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion.

Southern Vales Compassionate Communities

The Southern Vales Compassionate Communities (SVCC) group was founded in early 2020. The SVCC group formed to make compassionate connections within the community as part of a palliative care public health movement. We have adopted a grass roots, community led approach to ensure that our work makes a valued and sustainable contribution to the community within which we live, with a mission to build and strengthen community support for living and dying well, by encouraging compassionate community action. SVCC is one of the five local CCs to be supported through this project.

SVCC comprise a group of volunteers, with various skill sets, that contribute to the small community led projects that we undertake: for example, Death Cafes and an art group for those that are experiencing grief. The Death Café movement aims to open up community discussions around life and death, and these will be followed by Advance Care Directive workshops, in collaboration with Onkaparinga council, in late 2022. Our Art for the Heart group aims to reach those who would like to use art as a means of expressing emotion relating to their grief, and commenced in September 2022.

Meet the Project Steering Group

One of the first actions on receiving the grant funding was to establish a project Steering Group to:

oversee strategic planning and day to day running of the project,  
liaise and collaborate with partners, stakeholders and wider community,  
provide support and mentoring to local CCs,  and
ensure financial and performance accountability and reporting.

Jules Ferguson

Jules Ferguson is Chairperson of Healthy Cities Onkaparinga and the OCCC steering group.  Jules is passionate about establishing networks, mentoring and partnerships and believes in leading through example and helping those around her to find their niche. She is an active consumer advocate and has been involved in bringing the consumer voice to various State and Federal committees working previously on the Statewide Palliative Care Network and Cancer Australia. Jules believes in the motto “To Encourage. To Enable. To Empower.”

Kristina Walsh

Kristina Walsh is the Chair of SVCC and Deputy Chair of the OCCC steering group. In these roles she provides guidance and support to a group of volunteers. This includes project planning, grant proposal writing, peer support and mentorship. In this volunteer role, Kristina shares her passion for connecting wholeheartedly with others in her community in her spare time. As a Registered Nurse with many years of community nursing experience in the U.K., Regional Queensland and SA, Kristina is enthusiastic about people living and dying well in their preferred place of care. Kristina currently works as an Associate Lecturer at Flinders University, teaching in the post graduate palliative care course.

Gwyn Jolley

Gwyn Jolley is Deputy Chair of HCO and acts as secretary for HCO and the OCCC steering group. Gwyn is passionate about equity, empowerment and participation. In her role as HCO Deputy Chair, Gwyn provides administrative support, writes grant applications and coordinates project activities and reporting. Gwyn worked as a public health researcher at Flinders University, prior to her retirement. She is a member of Health CAN SA and the Public Health Association Australia.

Tricia Damé

Tricia Damé is a strong advocate for Consumer Engagement in the health system and joined Healthy Cities Onkaparinga in 2016. She is a Patient and Family Representative at Flinders Medical Centre where she speaks to patients, families and carers in the Division of Rehabilitation, Aged and Palliative Care. Tricia is also passionate about Aboriginal Reconciliation and recognition in our communities.

Deborah Lilley

Deborah Lilley is a founding member and secretary of the SVCC and the driving force behinds its Death Cafe 'Life and Death conversations'. Deborah has a passion and drive to break the stigma around talking about the 'difficult' topics of life and death. In her professional role, Deborah is a Civil Celebrant, providing varied celebrant services to the Fleurieu Peninsula and beyond. For Deb, being a celebrant is more than a job, it is a way of life, and it has a passion of fire and warmth in her heart.

Matt Adams

Matt Adams is Community Connections Officer for the City of Onkaparinga and works with the communities of Sellicks Beach, Aldinga, Willunga, McLaren Vale, McLaren Flat and surrounds, on community development projects that connect local residents and improve community life.

Helen Mikolaj

Helen Mikolaj is the HCO treasurer and as such manages the financial aspects of the grant.