RotaUnits changing lives in the Northern Rivers

The Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond have installed twelve portable units for flood affected people across the Northern Rivers, with another twelve about to be built.

Rotary’s Col Lee spoke to The Echo in Ballina and Lismore about this ambitious project. He explained that the idea of temporary homes grew out of Rotary’s other flood recovery work across the region, all supported by community fundraising, starting with emergency coupon and food distribution to those in need, followed by major entertainment events at Wardell, Ballina and Woodburn.

‘After that we thought, well, people are telling us that they need somewhere to live that’s safe, secure, and most importantly warm. They are living in tents, caravans and sometimes parts of flood-damaged homes,’ said Mr Lee.

Many buildings continue to have no insulation, and often no walls. ‘Winter last year was very difficult, and of course we got another cold winter this year. So we decided to take on and fund raise to do a housing project with temporary houses.’

Rapid Response

As Mr Lee explains, ‘We came across a product called Rapid Response Housing, which is a collapsible box house. It’s a very strong, well made, insulated single room which we fit out with a kitchenette. Some have showers and hot water systems. We fit those out to accommodate people for their sleeping and living quarters.’

These ‘RotaUnits’ can be installed in backyards, under houses, or in free standing locations in rural areas. People can use the units as a base while they complete repairs to their houses nearby, and maintain connections and jobs within their local communities.

‘The majority of the people we’ve helped have been farmers, or townspeople with no insurance for flood, but a high mortgage on their homes, because they might have only owned them a couple of years,’ said Mr Lee.

‘Having somewhere to live motivates them, and gives them the opportunity to do repairs and restoration on their properties.’

Places which have received RotaUnits already include Mullumbimby, Lismore, Wardell, Broadwater, Tuckarimba, Woodburn and Broadwater.

Twelve units have been installed since May of this year, complete with footings. They arrive on a truck, and can be completed within hours once the sites have been prepared. The work is all done by volunteers and Rotarians, with no cost to the occupants of the box homes.

RAWCS

It’s a massive undertaking for a regional club, and Col Lee says he’s not aware of anything similar happening elsewhere in Australia, so far. ‘We are the pilot program through an organization called RAWCS, which is Rotary Australian World Community Service. They gave us dollar for dollar what we put tipped in, plus we’ve had a number of Rotary clubs also give this wonderful support, along with private donors.

‘This whole project is going to cost us in the vicinity of $400,000 to $450,000 to complete. So we’ve really worked hard on our marketing and our fundraising.’

Those who have supported Rotary locally have helped make this project a reality, along with people from beyond the region.

‘The big one was Harris Coffee, who ended up giving us $290,000 for our flood recovery,’ Mr Lee explained. ‘The last $80,000 has gone into these units that we’re putting in, which was very timely.’

He said that although the units are designed to sit on the ground if necessary, Rotary have decided to put them on concrete footings to enable stability and airflow, to eliminate mould, along with anchor points for safety in high winds.

The first twelve RotaUnits are all completed and occupied.

How are people responding?

‘The biggest reaction we get is just absolute gratitude,’ said Mr Lee. ‘Some of these people feel neglected; that they’ve slipped through the cracks of other agencies that have been looking at doing things, and unfortunately not a great deal has happened.

‘We’ve made a conscious effort to get these things out as quickly as we can. We had to fund raise extra for them, which held us up probably three or four months. But once we started on the job we had these things up and people moving in very quickly.’

Mr Lee said the RotaUnits were allocated on a needs basis, with applications via government agencies in Lismore and neighbouring shires, word of mouth, and liaison with the neighbourhood centres in Mullumbimby and Woodburn, along with WardellCORE.

‘Not too many people can understand we are not charging one cent for this,’ he said.

As far as red tape is concerned, government regulations say the units can be in place for two years with no DA, unless they will remain a place of residence after that time, in which case a DA will be required then. If people no longer need the units after two years, Rotary retains the first right to use the buildings elsewhere, as required.

‘Unfortunately, this is not the last flood or drought that we will experience,’ said Mr Lee, ‘and so people are saying beautiful, because this will get us two years or will get us finished in our home where it’s livable, maybe even 18 months, then we can take these and store them.

‘Once the next crisis hits, straightaway we can get people having shelter within just a matter of days.’

24 units

The Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond are currently on track to use up their emergency housing funds after 24 RotaUnits are installed, but are open to doing further temporary housing if the demand is there.

Col Lee said a number of people have already left the worst flood affected areas or got their homes back to the point of being liveable. For those still in crisis, he says the criteria set by the government for the temporary housing project is that there must be electricity, a working toilet, and water.

Mr Lee says the RotaUnits come with power points and LED lights, with kitchenettes and hot water systems that can also be connected to neighbouring houses.

‘Some people haven’t had hot water since day one. So they’ve been having cold showers… when people can have a hot shower for the first time they just break down,’ he said. ‘It’s a pretty big thing.’

Rural assistance

Mr Lee said the club has made a particular effort to help those on rural properties who have lost everything. ‘The idea is to help people get back on their properties and make them sustainable.

‘Again, you’ve got to understand that a lot of the farmers, particularly in the lower Richmond, which were all pretty much cattle, people lost either 80 per cent or 100 per cent of the cattle, they just flooded down the river. It’s been very, very difficult for them.

‘Now they’re living in pod villages, or caravans somewhere, but if we get them back on their own properties, all of a sudden they can get a whole new lease of life and re-establish their properties. And we’re seeing that right at the moment.

‘So that’s been a wonderful outcome, and that was our initial plan,’ he said.

‘We are really happy that we’ve been able to deliver these units to people so much in need, so that their lives can be changed, in a much better space.’

Col Lee wanted to pay particular tribute to project manager Donella Kinnish and builder Paul Sleeth, who he said were largely responsible for the success of the RotaUnit project on the ground.