Purple House (Alice Springs) facts for kids

Purple House is a special health service in Alice Springs, Australia. It's run by Indigenous people and helps other Indigenous people. Their main job is to provide a treatment called dialysis to people with serious kidney problems. They help people living in far-off communities across the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and South Australia.

What is Purple House?

Purple House's full name is Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation. It's a non-profit group, which means they don't work to make money. Instead, they focus on helping people. They specialize in helping Indigenous Australians who need dialysis. This treatment helps clean their blood when their kidneys can't do it properly.

Why is Purple House important?

Many Indigenous people in remote areas face serious kidney problems. Before Purple House, they often had to leave their homes and families. They had to move to bigger towns like Alice Springs or Darwin to get treatment. This meant they were far from their culture and couldn't share important knowledge with their communities. Purple House helps them get treatment closer to home.

How Purple House Started

Purple House officially began in 2003. It was started by the Pintupi people from the Western Desert. They saw a big health problem happening in their communities. Many people were getting very sick with kidney failure.

Raising money for a good cause

To start Purple House, some senior Pintupi artists created special paintings. These artists were often part of a group called Papunya Tula. In 2000, these paintings were sold at an auction. They raised over $1 million! This money helped create the Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation, which became Purple House.

The first purple house

Purple House started giving dialysis treatments in a regular house in Alice Springs. This house was painted purple, and that's how the organization got its name! In 2004, they opened their first clinic in a remote community called Kintore.

Growing and Helping More People

Since it started, Purple House has grown a lot. It now runs 18 other clinics in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and South Australia. They also have two mobile dialysis units. These are like special trucks that can travel to very remote places. They are called the Purple Truck!

More ways Purple House helps

Purple House gets money from different places. Some comes from donations, some from the government, and some they earn themselves. They have also started to offer other kinds of support. This includes help with social needs, aged care for older people, and support through the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme). They even have a business called Bush Balm. This business uses traditional Indigenous knowledge about bush medicines to make products.

Making a big change

For many years, Purple House worked hard to get funding for dialysis in remote areas. Finally, in 2018, good news came. The Australian government announced that Medicare would help pay for dialysis in very remote places. This was a huge step forward for Purple House and the people they help.

Awards and Recognitions

Purple House has been recognized for its amazing work.

• In 2016, they won an Indigenous Governance Award from Reconciliation Australia.
• In 2018, they were named Telstra NT Business of the Year.

Meet Sarah Brown AM

The CEO (leader) of Purple House is Sarah Brown AM. She has also received many awards for her dedication:

• In 2017, she was named Hesta Australia’s Nurse of the Year.
• In 2018, she was on the AFR BOSS magazine’s ‘True Leaders’ list.
• In 2020, she received an Order of Australia. This award recognized her important work in community health, nursing in remote areas, and helping the Indigenous community.