Ezidis refugees naming of healthcare tool in Armidale

The program, run by non-for-profit HealthWISE, is called Ezidkhan, which means 'a house of Ezidi'.

The name was launched at a morning tea on August 23 that included Ezidi people and local service providers.

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"Ezidkhan is a big name for the Ezidi community," HealthWISE care navigator Kaso Elias said.

The name was chosen to give the community a sense of pride in the program, and as a symbol of safety and openness for care navigation clients.

"They feel HealthWISE is the second house for the community. So they feel that we are their friend," Mr Elias said.

"I think the name will give them more confidence to speak with the team."

HealthWISE also launched a peacock icon featuring the colours of the Ezidi flag. The peacock is a powerful national symbol for the Ezidi people, and is white to represent innocence, peace, equality and purity, with red to represent hardiness, valour and martyrs, and yellow for life and light.

More than 700 Ezidi people have settled in Armidale as humanitarian entrants since 2018.

The HealthWISE Ezidkhan care navigation service seeks to help this community overcome barriers accessing health care including language, managing appointments, travel and health literacy.

Care navigator Melissa van Leeuwen said: "ISIS attacked their hometown of Shingal, Iraq, in 2014 and everyone was dispersed. They'd been living in camps in Turkey and other countries.

"Some residents have complex health needs, and the community has high rates of trauma and disability.

"The model of care in their home country is very different to the model in Australia," she said.

The Ezidkhan care navigation program is funded by the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network for the Armidale area. The service is accessed through general practitioner referrals.

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