Community groups to host disaster-ready workshops

Australian Red Cross is pleased to be working in partnership with the Southern Downs Regional Council, the Warwick Volunteering Project and local community groups and residents to build on their recent flood experiences to be as prepared as possible next time a flood or other emergency happens.
The Red Cross flood recovery team has been actively working in the Southern Downs since January and, as well as providing personal support visits and help in getting information and material goods to individual households, it is working with local groups and services to help them lead recovery and do an even better job next time an emergency or disaster happens.
Red Cross is well placed to do this because of its national and international experience in disaster management. The team is excited about its work with the Southern Downs community because, according to state recovery manager Leisa Bourne, “The Southern Downs community, from the very beginning, has shown its terrific strength and leadership around firstly responding to and then recovering from the December and January floods.
“Because of the local skills and resilience, our role has been quite different, and a real partnership, where we can ‘top up’  and add value to what is already happening, making it even better, has been possible.
“The next stage of our joint activities, in response to what local people and groups are asking for, is to support and help run disaster preparedness information and training activities, including those with community volunteers, that will be co-hosted by the council and led by Bette Bonney, who was actively involved in coordinating volunteers in the Warwick area, following the floods earlier this year.”
For more information on the initial community volunteer disaster management training workshops scheduled for Warwick in mid-July, contact Bette Bonney on 0429 432 510. For more details on Australian Red Cross flood recovery services in the Southern Downs, contact Donna Volp on 0467 712 129.