Bushfire Recovery Shoalhaven

Service NSW Disaster Assistance Finder

Did you know that you can complete a simple online questionnaire with Service NSW to identify support that you or your buisness may be eligible for if you have suffered damage or loss from any of the three natural disaster events in the Shoalhaven, March, July and September 2022?

Visit https://disasterassistance.service.nsw.gov.au/

70 Rebates to help manage the cost of living

The NSW Government is helping reduce the cost of living with more than 70 rebates and vouchers…like to know more, try the online Service NSW Savings Finder

1. Click through 6 simple questions.
2. See a personalised list of savings.

Visit https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/campaign/savings-finder

You can contact Service NSW on 13 77 88 (7am to 7pm)

13YARN [Thirteen YARN] is the first National crisis support line for mob who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping. We offer a confidential one-on-one yarning opportunity with a Lifeline-trained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter who can provide crisis support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

13YARN empowers our community with the opportunity to yarn without judgment and provides a culturally safe space to speak about their needs, worries or concerns.

If you, or someone you know, are feeling worried or no good, we encourage you to connect with 13YARN on 13 92 76 (24 hours/7 days) and talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter.

For more information, please visit the https://www.13yarn.org.au/ website.

Many communities lost access to power and communications during the 2019-20 bushfires, leaving them unable to connect with emergency services and stay informed to make safety decisions.

From this experience, the Shoalhaven City Council identified an opportunity to provide trusted and authoritative information from the Shoalhaven Integrated Emergency Management Centre (IEMC) to isolated communities to improve public safety during future emergencies.

The experience has highlighted shortcomings that needed to be addressed. There needs to be better communication with communities during a crisis, especially a community where the population can increase significantly during the tourism seasons.

With support from the Local Economic Recovery grants, funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments, Council is delivering critical infrastructure so that in future disasters, if power and communications are lost, community members can access important emergency information via their Local Information Hub.

The hubs will provide communications and energy technology at 19 Council-owned halls and community centres across the Shoalhaven, displaying accurate and up to date emergency information. Additionally, four Holiday Haven holiday parks will have information dashboards installed.

The dashboards are linked to the IEMC via satellite internet connection and powered via backup power from solar panels and batteries. This will ensure the Hubs are not reliant on mobile phone towers or the power grid.

In the Shoalhaven, the biggest cause of power disruption isn’t fire, it’s not flood, it’s wind taking out power lines. Whatever we could do to provide access to timely information had to be around a system that did not rely on mobile phone technology and did not rely around the grid.

This project is unique in that it provides uninterruptable power, but also uninterruptable communications, and they go hand in hand. It’s really revolutionary in being adaptable to this environment that we live in.

Using the talent, services and infrastructure from within the region, the project makes use of commercially available technology, fitted and installed by local providers.

Callala Bay Community Hall has been the pilot site for the communications and power upgrade, with installation of a Voice over IP satellite phone connection, live screen with satellite connection, communications rack, satellite modem, solar panels, battery pack and new power board.

It has been a true collaboration with the local Callala Bay community, thanks to direct representative involvement, providing advice and preferences on installation and operation.

Callala Community Centre President James Morris has enjoyed setting his community up for success, highlighting that it was an exercise of cooperation between the Council, local business and providers, all contributing ideas , to work together to come up with an outcome.

In preparing the Callala community for future disasters, in future, decisions will now be made on knowledge, rather than on guess work.

The local information hubs are part of a broader Recovery into Resilience Project (RRP) that will provide a coordinated approach to improving the resilience of the Shoalhaven Community, via three programs which involve short and long-term approaches, as detailed below.

Although we can’t stop the future happening, we can certainly be more prepared to meet it.

The recovery journey is a complex one with many challenges. We have seen and continue to see extraordinary efforts within our communities to support each other and we continue to see compassion and kindness.

Do you:

• Still have tough days and feel the impact from the 2019/2020 bushfires?
• Experience anxiety, feel overwhelmed and struggle to plan ahead?
• Find the rebuilding process difficult to navigate and would like some support?
• Need general practical support?

Council’s Recovery Outreach Team are here to listen, help and provide that practical advice together with referrals.

If referrals are needed, we can draw on a strong network of support from Federal, State Governments, Not for Profit Organisations, and agencies/providers.

Please call 1300 293 111 or email communityconnections@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au

Shoalcoast Community Legal Centre recently presented a community information session to discuss legal issues arising between builders and homeowners rebuilding after the bushfires.

Joined by barrister Mark Sheldon, Shoalcoast Community Legal Centre talked through common problems and dispute resolution options.

For those unable to join the information session the recording is now available online.

This presentation, along with other resources, can be accessed from the Shoalcoast Community Legal Centre's Website Resources web page.

Imagery from the upcoming ABC Fires Series may be distressing for some of our community members.

Many in our community either had or know someone who had a personal connection to the 2019/2020 Black Summer Bushfires.

All of us will react to this material in our own way – some might experience positive reactions such as gratitude towards those who helped them at a stressful time. On the other hand some of us may experience increased anxiety, a sense of helplessness or anger.

We can choose to:

• not watch the series.
• begin to watch it and turn it off if you start to feel distressed.
• use this series as a way to help us to psychologically prepare for a time of great stress in the future. Being psychologically prepared when a disaster is happening can help you feel more confident, more in control and better able to make effective emergency plans.

The Red Cross highlight 3 steps to assist you in being psychologically prepared:

1. Anticipate – that you will feel worried or anxious and remember these are normal
2. Identify – what specific physical feelings or frightening thoughts might be adding to the fear
3. Manage – your responses so that you can stay calm

For additional information visit https://www.redcross.org.au/get-help/emergencies/coping-after-a-crisis

If you feel this could be a triggering event for you, please make contact and talk to us; we are here to listen and help, please call the Council Outreach Team on (02) 4429 5888 or contact the NSW Health Shoalhaven Bushfire Recovery Service Clinicians on (02) 4424 7888.

The era of 24-hour news brings traumatic events directly into everyone's lives. Here's how that can affect people, especially children, and some strategies for coping

With recent news and media coverage about the Coronavirus (COVID-19), following on from a difficult bushfire season, it is normal for children and adults to feel overwhelmed and stressed during this time.

Emerging Minds is dedicated to advancing health and emotional wellbeing of Australia infants, children, adolescents, and their families and is providing resources to support our community

To view the videos, factsheets, and tips about what you can expect and how you can help children cope during uncertain and challenging times visit the Emerging Minds website.

The Shoalhaven community are invited to provide input in the development of a bushfire-resilient house design as part of a community led project being run by Bushfire Building Council of Australia (BBCA), NRMA Insurance and Shoalhaven City Council. The project, known as FORTIS House, aims to help residents save time and money by providing a highly resilient, sustainable, affordable and adaptable building design, for free.

FORTIS will make the re-building process easier, with free architectural drawings, construction manual and consumer handbook that shows community members, building designers and trades how to adapt the design to a homeowner’s site requirements, style and required bushfire attack level (BAL) rating.

The project was established in response to calls for help from community members struggling to re-build their homes and lives in bushfire-prone areas.

Council is seeking input from bushfire-affected community members in the Shoalhaven to develop the bushfire-resilient ‘FORTIS House’ through a virtual community design workshop. Input is also being sought via an online Community Design Questionnaire to help inform the Design Workshop.

The Community Design Workshop will be held:

When: Wednesday 26 May 2021
Time: 6pm - 8pm
Where: Online
Register at: fortishouse.org

The FORTIS House public launch will be held in Shoalhaven in October 2021.

For more information, including how to participate in the project, visit www.fortishouse.org.

Alternatively, if you would like to learn more about the project, take a look at the FAQ or email info@bbca.org.au.

Shoalhaven City Council today unveiled a plaque to acknowledge those who helped during the Currowan Bushfires and in the recovery to resilience efforts since.

Located on a memorial rock located in front of Council's Nowra Administration Building the plaque provides an important reminder of the impact of the bushfires on the Shoalhaven community over the 2019/20 summer and the recovery to resilience efforts that continue today.

Shoalhaven City Council Mayor Amanda Findley thanked all involved for their courage and compassion. Full Media Release.

If you need help and support, there is a range of assistance available for you, even if it just someone to listen. Council is working collaboratively with Federal and State Government and agencies, the Shoalhaven Health & Wellbeing Network, not-for-profit organisations, charities and many others to deliver this assistance.

Council's team is here to support our community. If you have been affected, there are a range of assistance measures available to support you. The recovery journey can be a complex one with many challenges.

You can speak with Council’s Bushfire Recovery Outreach team by calling its dedicated helpline 4429 5888 Monday to Friday during 9.00am - 5.00pm. The team are here to support you on every step of your recovery journey either within Council or by connecting you with the right community or government support.

You can speak with Bushfire Recovery Outreach team in person at the Shoalhaven Recovery Hub located at the Ulladulla Civic Centre. The team are available on Thursdays and Fridays between 10.30am and 4.00pm and on Saturdays between 10.00am and 1.00pm.