Recovery centres to help flood victims

The Recovery Centre at The Entrance

AS Central Coast residents face the huge task of coping with the effects of last week’s devastating storm event, two Recovery Centres have been set up at The Entrance and Spencer to help negotiate the many issues.

Mel Gore has been appointed as Recovery Coordinator for the Central Coast, the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions.

With more than 20 years’ experience in emergency management, particularly working directly with the community, she intends to be out and about as much as possible.

“I’m making sure I get around personally to the most affected places to hear direct from communities and make sure we are tailoring our support and services to meet their needs,” she said.

“At the centres, people can come in and discuss their requirements in recovering from the storms, with a variety of services available, including representatives from Central Coast Council and Resilience NSW and people able offer mental health and legal counselling.

“It’s important for flood-impacted members of the community to be able to talk to different services about what support they might need to assist in their recovery.

“People are presenting with a range of problems.

“Some are still in temporary accommodation and might need to discuss their temporary housing needs as repairs are done on their homes.

“We can also help with a referral pathway if people have insurance concerns and offer a range of counselling services.

“Mental health support is especially important, with the compounding impact of the most recent disasters.”

Gore sad centre staff could also help with applying for State or Federal grant funding.

Mel Gore

She said a temporary Recovery Centre, which operated at Mari over the weekend and is now closed, attracted more than 100 visits over three days and the centres at The Entrance and Spencer are receiving 10-20 visits per day.

“A lot of people are still trying to clean out their homes and we estimate these numbers at the centres will grow in coming weeks,” she said.

“We will be there while the community needs us and the demand is there.”

Gore said no appointment was necessary during the centres’ opening hours.

The centres, at The Entrance Community Centre in Battley Ave and the Spencer Community Hall, are open from 10am-4pm on weekdays and from 10am-2pm on weekends.

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery, Steph Cooke, said the centres had been established to ensure that flood-affected communities receive support in a timely and efficient way.

“Our first priorities are to undertake rapid damage assessments of flooded homes and businesses, begin the mammoth task of cleaning up and ensure residents displaced by the flooding can access emergency accommodation,” she said.

Terry Collins