Supporting resilience in wake of floods

Primary Health Network CEO Richard Nankervis

Central Coast projects have attracted $110,000 in Flood Recovery Grants to promote wellbeing and resilience for residents impacted by recent flood events.

Funded by the NSW Government and facilitated by the Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network (PHN), the Flood Recovery – Community Wellbeing and Resilience Grants program saw amounts of between $5,000 and $50,000 provided to NGOs and community groups, with $325,000 distributed between the three regions.

With more than 30 applications received, 12 were selected for funding, providing activities, and initiatives for target groups ranging from youth and financially disadvantaged to culturally and linguistically diverse, First Nations and the general population.

Yarramalong School of Arts will use its grant to undertake flood action planning, by consulting with resilience planners including SES, Local Land Services and Central Coast Council to help people prepare and ensure that they and their livestock are safe in the event of future flooding.

A series of community gatherings will be held to facilitate the consultation.

Other Central Coast projects selected were Mental Health and Wellbeing Training and Consultancy, which will conduct training programs throughout the region and the Delhuntie Youth Centre Pinnacle program which will concentrate on youth suicide prevention measures on the Central Coast.

Parents Beyond Breakup have also received funding to provide a peersWALK program to flood affected communities in the PHN region, including the Central Coast.

The program will provide early-stage preventative training accessible to all members of the community suffering from situational distress, common in natural disasters.

CEO Gillian Hunt said peersWALK is interactive, online and available to anyone in the community.

“As the name suggests, it is about community-based peer support, building a foundation of resilience through supporting each other across the road of crisis,” she said.

“The four-hour online training provides real-world interactive training and practice that enables community confidence through a step-by-step approach to engaging in empathic conversation with peers in crisis or distress, to walk them across the road of suicide or distress before they get too far down that road.

“It is about prevention before the need for intervention. It is about community-based peer support, building a foundation of resilience through supporting each other, so the skills and tools are practical, real life, and transferrable.”

PHN Chief Executive Officer, Richard Nankervis, said the grants could not have come at a better time.

“The past few years have been challenging for our communities as a result of the numerous natural disasters such as bush fires and major flood events,” he said.

“The PHN is pleased to provide an opportunity for communities and organisations to access (these grants), which will fund programs that support social and emotional wellbeing and support resilience building for communities and individuals.”

Minister for Mental Health, Bronnie Taylor, said the Community Wellbeing and Flood Recovery Grants will help ensure vital care and support is available to communities impacted by flooding as they rebuild.

“Natural disasters can cause significant distress to affected communities and we recognise the emotional impacts can linger well beyond the initial clean-up,” she said.

“These grants are a small part of a wider initiative to help ease the burden.”

The grant funding has been allocated to each of the 12 NGOs and community groups for the immediate roll-out of the planned initiatives.

Source: Media release, Aug 16, 2021, Primary Health Network

1 Comment on "Supporting resilience in wake of floods"

  1. Oh how wonderful. That will surely divert the flood waters and keep the communities safe from engineered weather events.

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