Long term recovery key

LONG TERM RECOVERY key Two and a half years on from the 2019/2020 summer bushfires, the Murrumbidgee communities impacted continue to be supported through a range of MPHN initiatives and collaborations.

The March 2021 10 Years Beyond The Bushfires report into the devastating Victorian ‘Black Saturday’ fires found positive long term recovery from major disasters requires more than two years of support. The study aimed to build an understanding of longer-term recovery and the ongoing impacts of a major disaster experience, to identify where support is needed for those affected and to guide preparedness and recovery from future events. MPHN’s bushfire recovery lead, Maja Asmus said the report highlighted the power of community strategies to strengthen resilience. “The influence of family, friends and social networks really can enhance longer term resilience and recovery, and MPHN’s approach to activities has been to support initiatives with the potential for longevity and sustainability at the local level,” Maja explains. “Through the Bushfire Recovery Steering Committee, MPHN was able to facilitate relationships with organisations outside of health who were providing various support activities in these communities, such as councils, farming and land care organisations, and education. Together we worked collaboratively to dovetail into existing activities and coordinate recovery efforts to avoid duplication of services.” An example of collaboration was the establishment of The Men’s Table initiative in Tumbarumba during December 2021. It was a regional and natural disaster area pilot and its success saw the beginning of another table start for Khancoban/ Corryong and more will commence in late 2022. The Men’s Table in Tumbarumba was a welcome social opportunity for participant Andrew Rae. “After the fires we received great community support from organisations providing mental health support. None focused solely on men until The Men’s Table came. This is a safe place for men to lean on each other for support. The men are there to help each other, and that’s a big part of why they’ve come.” Kane Stewart, another Men’s Table participant agrees adding “it’s been awesome connecting with people from all walks of life. We are all willing to listen. From the outset everyone has space and we are going to talk without judgement. These community spaces are absolutely vital.” Young people also needed targeted support. Culcairn’s Billabong High School hosted the Tomorrow Man and Tomorrow Woman sessions, with the first receiving positive student and staff feedback. One staff member said “the session was amazing. Especially the Man Code. It was a safe space to give the boys a chance to speak about their feelings and how they are perceived in school. The session with the girls was also just as amazing. They discussed some very personal issues young girls face. Both sessions helped the cohorts see each their fellow students in a different light and relate to each other’s wellbeing”.

$275,406

supported 36 activities through BUSHFIRE RECOVERY GRANTS

“The Black Summer Bushfires took a devastating toll on my community and we are still feeling the effects today, two years on. The scars on our beautiful lands are still evident, but it is the scars that you can’t see, these are the ones that concern me the most. I live in the Snowy Valleys in remote southern NSW; cattle country, with farmers who have resilient DNA. They have lived through it all and nothing appears to faze them. But it does. They just don’t put their hand up for help.”

Snowy Valleys community member, Andrew Rae

Kane Stewart, The Men’s Table, Tumbarumba

In June, MPHN engaged the Resilience Project to support the schools and early childhood centres in bushfire impacted communities. It’s a targeted all of school approach and the project will support teachers to embed the learning within regular lessons, provide a journal to support and guide students, and parent information sessions. Onboarding is now underway with commencement of the project expected in late 2022. MPHN’s Bushfire Recovery Grants also provided more than $275,000 in funding for 36 activities. One of these is the Nature Fix trails which will design and install a series of nature wellness stops at targeted locations across the Snowy Valleys area. Under the leadership of the Murrumbidgee Local Health District’s Disaster Recovery clinicians the project is community designed to support healing and recovery through storytelling, while simultaneously aiding the rebuilding of local tourism. Culturally sensitive Indigenous stories will be respectfully embedded throughout the program at sites of significance. “These all are a small snapshot of the various projects and activities being undertaken in the region’s bushfire impacted communities,” explains Maja. “We also have funded Bushfire Service Navigator roles in the Greater Hume and Snowy Valleys councils to facilitate wellbeing support through linking community members to available services and coordinate social connectedness events like the Are you bogged, Mate? sessions in Jingellic, Adelong and Holbrook to help rural men talk about mental health and suicide. At one of the sessions, a community member shared that he had been having suicidal thoughts but had never talked to anyone about it previously. Events like these allow us to reach people that may not seek help otherwise. For this community member they were able to get the help they needed and this just shows the positive impact of dedicated funding to support disaster affected communities.”

Bushfire Recovery steering committee

Thank you to all members of the Bushfire Recovery Steering Committee for your guidance on funding and your collaboration on activities supporting the region’s bushfire impacted communities. Members of the committee represented a diverse range of organisations and communities, and included people with lived experience.

• Snowy Valleys Local Government Area • Greater Hume Local Government Area • New South Wales Police • Rural Fire Service • Rural Doctors Network • Department of Education • Local Land Service • Department of Primary Industry • Regional NSW • NSW Farmers • Rural Aid • Murrumbidgee Local Health District • Albury Wodonga Health • Riverina Aboriginal Medical and Dental Corporation • Resilience NSW • National Recovery and Resilience Agency • Lived experience community representatives • State Emergency Service • Rural Financial Counselling Service