Resilient Lismore says results of a recent door-to-door survey include more than two thousand residents living in more than a thousand households that haven’t recovered from the 2022 floods and aren’t properly prepared for future disaster.
The group has published two reports it says show ongoing community disaster recovery need on the Northern Rivers.
The first is a survey called the Lismore Flood Zone Survey and Outreach Report, carried out in July.
Social Futures, Uniting Recovery Support Services, the Lismore City Council, the Red Cross and Lismore Business Chaplains supported the project.
Resilient Lismore Executive Director Elly Bird says it highlights shortfalls in recovery support for households that ‘fall through the cracks’ of existing disaster recovery and preparedness programs.
Ms Bird says more support is still needed to meet the particular needs of people living in the flood zone, many of whom she says are also navigating challenging personal circumstances such as financial strain or living with a disability.
Repair to Return improves wellbeing
The second report is the Resilient Lismore Social Impact Report, focused on the NSW Resconstrution Authority’s Repair to Return project.
The project also has support from the Lismore Diocese and Goonellabah Rotary.
Project participants and volunteers were surveyed, reporting an overall improvement in wellbeing.
‘In a nutshell, this report shows that as well as repairing houses or running workshops, participation in our programs improves the wellbeing of the people we work with,’ Ms Brid says.
‘Our team knows this, our community knows it and now we have the evidence that shows the value of a community-led and place-based approach to disaster recovery,’ she says.
The group engaged Huber Social, described as ‘an independent third-party expert that specialises in social impact’, in early 2023 to carry out the research.
The report also shows wellbeing of survey respondents overall is lower than the national average.
Ms Bird says it’s important to remember there is still ‘a lot that can be done’ to care for Northern Rivers communities and for the people affected by the 2022 disaster.
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