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The positive side of Wear it Purple Day

Wear it Purple Day stems from a sad origin, but Joel Willoughby likes to see the positive side of what it can achieve.

WRAD Health celebrates Wear it Purple Day on the last Friday of August every year and Joel, who is LGBTQIA+ trainer and advocate in addition to his AOD clinician role, says it is an important date on the calendar.

Wear it Purple was founded in 2010 in response to global stories of teenagers taking their lives following bullying and harassment resulting from the lack of acceptance of their sexuality or gender identity.

One member of this group was 18-year-old Tyler Clementi who took his life after being publicly ‘outed’ as gay by his roommate.

“How it started is a sad story but it has the potential to be positive with the action of good people,” Joel says.

Joel sees that positive action at WRAD Health. “Here at WRAD Health it’s very refreshing because staff get on board with Wear It Purple Day and support for LGBT people. There’s no-one here who doesn’t believe in the cause and it’s met with enthusiasm by all staff.”

While working as an AOD counsellor, Joel also ensures WRAD Health is properly welcoming and inclusive, not just being tokenistic, and recognises days of significance for the LGBT community.

He also provides training internally and externally if needed about inclusive practice, how to have appropriate discussions, including use of pronouns, gender and sexual identity, and policy change to be more inclusive.

Despite advances, Joel says there’s still much to do in the broader community.

“The world has made steps forward but also goes backwards. People seem to understand that being racist is an awful thing but for some reason some seem to think it’s okay to be homophobic, transphobic or express hatred towards anyone who is not a straight, white person.

“We can’t change the past, but wwhat we do next is what really matters.”

Joel joined WRAD Health as a trainee four years ago, arriving with experience in social work and as a community care worker working with senior citizens and people with a disability.

He is now nearing completion of his diploma in alcohol and other drugs, which will Back up his qualification in counselling.

“When I was studying community services at South West TAFE, there was a unit about counselling and I really enjoyed it and the teachers seemed to think I was quite good at it.

“That’s where I learnt that I had a real passion for counselling and starting here and learning more about the nature or alcohol and other drugs and the people that use the service furthered my passion for it.”

Joel maintains his passion and loves working with his clients. “I play a part in helping people but it’s only like 10 per cent of the journey,” he says. “Once the client walks out the door, it’s up to them. They’re the ones who go home and put in the big effort.”

Joel believes a good counsellor not only needs proper training but true empathy. “It’s about being human and recognising they are no better than their client and coming with a spirit of teamwork and collaboration,” he said.

His LGBT role wasn’t initially part of his work at WRAD Health but Joel saw a need and suggested it to the management team.

“A lot of people in my life identify as LGBT, as I do, and I’ve always been passionate about LGBT issues. Being part of an inclusive organisation means you need someone to drive it and multiple people tackling it.”

Joel sees an ongoing need for more support. “We need to continue developing programs for a marginalised group because it helps to break down stigma and promote better health across the board.

“it’s amazing how recent some of the changes were. It was only in the early 2020 that the gay panic defence (the legal defence to murder that a gay person was flirting and they felt threatened) officially ended. Wear it Purple Day is important because these things are still happening.”

Part of Joel’s role involves building partnerships and he’s pleased that South West TAFE has joined the campaign and is hosting a Wear It Purple Day on August 26.

WRAD Health will recognise the day on August 29.