Step By Step Bushfire Recovery Support Service offers practical, emotional and holistic support for you and your family. We are here for you through this second year, which can still surprise sometimes with how tired we feel and how long recovery can take. Try to remember that there’s no strict time-frame for recovering from bushfires. It truly is a step by step process so remember to pace yourself – it’s a marathon not a sprint.
Maybe you have ongoing insurance claims, or you’re still waiting for block clearing, repairs, replanting or rebuilding. Some of us are just now ready to talk about what happened with the bushfires. Wherever you are, we are a listening ear, and we have information and support from services who can assist with small projects, funding and personalised care for your wellbeing.
For more information, a chat or a cuppa, give your local Step By Step worker a call, or email stepbystep@gatewayfamilyservices.org.au
Mid-Western Council gives priority to applications relating to rebuilding bushfire damaged or destroyed buildings. Fees are waived for Development Applications, Complying Development Certificates and Construction Certificates. council@midwestern.nsw.gov.au 1300 765 002 or 6378 2850.
Lithgow Council Building on bushfire prone land webpage: https://council.lithgow.com/development/building-on-bushfire-prone-land/
Contact Rachel Nicoll, Community Recovery Officer 6354 9999 Rachel.Nicoll@lithgow.nsw.gov.au
Hawkesbury Council prioritises DA’s related to bushfire recovery and related fees are waived. Free pre DA advice service for people rebuilding following bushfire. Contact Liz Murphy, Community Recovery Officer 4560 4489
emurphy@hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au
Blue Mountains development application fees waived for bushfire impacted properties with no time limit. Fees waived until mid-2022 for land use advice, pre-lodgement fees, tree removal permit fees, Roads Act application fees & Annual onsite sewage system fees. Contact Rebecca Evers Community Recovery Officer 0439 620 163 revers@bmcc.nsw.gov.au
Hawkesbury Community Advice & Support Service (CASS) Hubs 9.30am to 12.30pm Kurrajong Heights Bowling Club Tuesdays fortnightly from 16 March Colo Heights Hall Thursdays fortnightly from 18 March Bilpin District Hall Tuesdays fortnightly from 23 March St Albans School of Arts Thursdays fortnightly from 25 March call Liz 4560 4489 emurphy@hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au
Disaster Assistance Finderhttps://disasterassistance.service.nsw.gov.au/
Mental Health Navtool Find local wellbeing supports, services and programs www.MentalHealthHelp.com.au
Legal Aid Disaster Response Legal Service Helpline
1800 801 529
https://disasterhelp.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/
Community Wellbeing Grants Up to $1000 from Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network Supporting community (not businesses) to organise community activities. Keep an eye out for up to $10 000 coming soon! Call Esther Perry 0419109358 www.nbmphn.com.au/communitygrants
Free Bushfire Psychological Therapy Services (PTS). Up to 10 free sessions with a professional therapist. Contact your GP for more information or to be referred https://www.nbmphn.com.au/bushfirePTS
Headspace Bushfire Recovery Service For young people aged 12-25 who were affected by the 2019/20 bushfires Katoomba & Lithgow area 4720 8850 Hawkesbury 4720 8850 https://www.nbmphn.com.au/headspace
Black Dog Institute Bushfire Support Service Mental health support for emergency service workers and family members 8627 3314 Hawkesbury https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/bush-fire-support-service/
FORTEM Australia Wellbeing support to first responder families 1300 33 95 94 www.rfcscr.com.au
NSW Bushfire Recovery Financial Counsellors Free and confidential service provides information and assistance to primary producers on financial position, business planning , budgets call Dev Tahal 0417 241 338 www.rfcscr.com.au
Salvos National Bushfire Recovery Services Financial assistance, emotional support and referrals Karen 0429 549 494
How to Prepare for Emergencies” Free Seniors Week workshops 22nd April 10 -12pm, Springwood Hub morning tea included. 23rd April 10-12pm Wentworth Falls Community Hub morning tea included. Lucky door prize for each workshop. Call Rebecca 0439 620 163 revers@bmcc.nsw.gov.au
We acknowledge with great respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first people of this land. We pay respect to the Darug, Gundungurra & Wiradjiri people-their elders, past and present, and to the children of today who are the elders of tomorrow.
Well here we are, approaching the anniversary of a year since the fires of late 2019, early 2020. We are wondering how you’re travelling with it all now?
Integration can be a Step By Step process, it can feel at times like we’re moving forward quickly, and at other times slowly or even backwards.
Our team have been walking alongside many of you, supporting with some practical, some emotional recovery steps – we are here to support you with this longer-term recovery process, and we know the journey is unique to each person.
We’re curio
us to know how you are looking after yourself at this time. We are hearing that many people are feeling fatigued. When we are stressed over long periods of time, our bodies become tired with elevated cortisol levels – the hormone that we release when we need to keep going through challenging times.
So it’s really important to rest and take time for self-care. And to find ways to reflect and acknowledge where you’ve come from and where you are now.
There are people available to talk things through with, people who don’t judge and who understand about the experience of recovering from a disaster. Sometimes we can be caught off guard when an anniversary brings up feelings or memories of experiences we think we should have moved on from. It can help to know you’re not alone with those feelings.
It’s really okay to not be okay sometimes. Recovery can be a longer process than we expect. Dr Rob Gordon explains about anniversaries for significant events:
Like so many families in our region, Leam Dzwinek and his two children had bushfires impact their property at the end of last year. While Leam and a friend managed to save the house, his surrounding property was burnt, and he lost many of his much loved animals.
For Leam there have been a variety of challenges on the recovery journey. He found it took time to work through the experience of having stayed to fight the fire. The bushfires and then the effects of Covid have also taken a toll on his plumbing business. And the burnt land has meant the immediate loss of the rural lifestyle he and his children enjoyed.
Ruth Myers from Step By Step has been in touch with Leam since earlier this year. “When I first met Leam he said he was “okay” but I was aware that he may be feeling overwhelmed with the ‘what to do’s’,” said Ruth. “What to do first, how to start, and the financial processes. I met with him and had a good yarn, and over time I could just check in on him; meeting him at a coffee shop, or in the office, or at his home.”
Leam says Ruth told him about some available grants and helped him to apply for them. She has stayed in contact and supported him by letting him know what services and financial support is available.
Leam was able to receive a small business grant from the NSW Government and he has also received help from the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. “Thankfully, I had a great number of friends who helped out. The financial support helped get some things started,” said Leam.
Approaching the one year anniversary of the fires, Leam has been planting flowers and shrubs to bring some colour back to his garden. With the risk of fires much lower this year, Leam says he feels safe. He is looking forward to creating some new play spaces for his children, and after an initial lull he’s getting his business back up and running. He is looking forward to a family Christmas, doing some rebuilding and enjoying time with his children.
I’m really grateful for Leam’s sense of community and sense of moving forward. In a word, he lives resilience,” said Ruth
No-one can say that 2020 has not been a year of profound challenges and changes. As we approach the first anniversary of the bushfires (and floods) it’s really i
mportant to step up your self-care and the care of your loved ones. Some people may want to attend community memorials, others will choose to spend time with family and friends. For others it may be important to spend the day alone. This important milestone (one that nobody invited) can bring with it painful memories and reminders of what has been lost and what has been changed forever. It can also be a time to reflect on the journey travelled so far and the road ahead. You may feel very uncertain about the road ahead…that’s OK. None of us are sure of what the future might hold. This is a time for respite, rest and reflection, reaching out and connecting with each other. It’s OK to not feel OK. It’s OK to grieve. Tears can be healing. You’re not alone and you’re not forgotten.
Step by Step bushfire recovery support service is here to walk alongside people (affected by the bushfires and floods) living in the Hawkesbury, Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Mid-Western regions. We can meet you for a chat and a cuppa wherever you feel comfortable, at home, your favourite café, over the phone or online. We can also help you with disaster recovery grant applications, practical support, recovery updates and link you with your local network of health and community services.
Step by Step is here to listen and to walk with you. There’s no blame, there’s no shame….. we help give your feelings a name. Remember that you are resilient, you are courageous, you have suffered and you’ve been through so much… but look how far you have come. Believe that you can keep moving forward step by step.
Go to this youtube video to listen to disaster recovery expert and clinical psychologist, Dr Rob Gordon talk about what anniversary events mean to individuals, families and communities.
Step by Step can be contacted on 0417 298 832 or stepbystep@gatewayfamilyservices.org.au
Go to our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Step-by-Step-Recovery-Support-Service-110797763847269/?ref=bookmarks
Lifeline's 13 HELP (13 43 57) is a dedicated bushfire recovery line available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for any person needing support as a result of the bushfires.
The friendly Step by Step Team
It’s been about 7 months now since the bushfires in our region. You might find it interesting to know that the recovery process does go in stages. As a community, the intense time of directly responding to a disaster is known as the Heroic phase – there’s high adrenalin, lots of stress and people come together to help in heroic ways. When the immediate threat has passed, we experience the Honeymoon phase of having survived and of naturally wanting to help each other. There are lots of promises and donations and a hope and expectation of action and support in recovery.
By 6 months or so we realise things are moving slowly. It might be that government support is not quite forthcoming, you may experience insurance delays or impediments to cleanup or reconstruction. Disaster response agencies have moved on and the press and wider public interest have dropped away. People are tired with the ongoing effort of recovery – this is known as the Disillusionment phase. We get on with taking care of our own lives, properties and losses, communities can feel fractured and disconnected from each other.
It’s in this phase that local support is so important. Communities can lean on local services who will walk alongside them through this phase of recovery, understanding that rebuilding and integrating the recovery experience takes time.
Lasting for several years after a disaster is the Reconstruction phase. Having the right support available, whether it’s financial, emotional or practical can really assist communities and individuals to recover well and move forward with their lives.
Step By Step are here to support you with this longer-term recovery process, and we know the journey is unique to each person – we’d love to hear your story.
We’re a group of local outreach services who can support you and your family in whatever way you may need, with practical, emotional and confidential support – no judgement, no labels. No door is the wrong door and you won’t have to retell your story to lots of different people.
We can help with applying for grants, small property repairs, essential household items, grocery vouchers and a professional listening ear to support the whole family’s emotional wellbeing.
Step By Step Bushfire Recovery Support Service: 22nd providing practical, emotional and holistic support for the whole family. Call Ruth Call Rebecca 0466936747 stepbystep@gatewayfamilyservices.org.au
Rural Adversity Mental Health Program inking people to local mental health services and resources, education, mental health and wellbeing, contact Sonia on 0448 125 676 Sonia.Cox@health.nsw.gov.au
Headspace Bushfire Recovery Team: youth wellbeing and youth care coordination, contact Charley for the Blue Mountains on 0438 871 120 charley.mason@parramattamission.org.au
Salvos National Bushfire Recovery Service:assisting with your practical needs, goods and grants, contact Karen 0429549494 karen.quinn@salvationarmy.org.au
NSW HEALTH Bushfire & COVID 19 Trauma Recovery Team: supporting your emotional wellbeing. Call Vanessa 0429 011 134 or Beaver 0427 309 823 Beaver.Hudson@health.nsw.gov.au
Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre Bushfire Recovery: providing practical assistance and vouchers, call Morna on 4754 4050 wincntre@tpg.com.au
Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Rural Recovery: assisting primary producers, contact Anthea on 0409 440 297
anthea.chapman@dpi.nsw.gov.au
NSW Primary Producers Special Disaster Grant $75,000 Extended until December 15, 2020. www.raa.nsw.gov.au
Red Cross Primary Residence Rebuild & Repair Grants close August 31st 2020 Call Red Cross on 1800 733 276 or check redcross.org.au/grants We can help with completing your application
NSW Small Business Grants Up to $50,000 available if your business has been directly affected by bush fire. There are also $10,000 loans available Call 13 77 88
Register at Service NSW for Block Cleanup apply.service.nsw.gov.au/bushfire-cleanup or call 13 77 88Property owners will be contacted to discuss damage and eligibility For complaints call 1800 007 539 or email nswbushfirecleanup@laingorourke.com.au
Free Counselling & Mediation Counselling for individuals, couples or families - By phone In person Online1800 864 846 ask@uniting.org www.uniting.org
Financial Counselling Australia Call 1800 007 007
Disaster Assistance Finder https://disasterassistance.service.nsw.gov.au/