Disaster recovery takes time

Local support services speak of people still in need, still in emotional distress, still foggy and unable to cope with too much more.

In episode two of this special three-part podcast series, we hear from Anne Leadbeater who was the recovery coordinator for Kinglake following the 2009 Black Saturday fires in Victoria.

She is ten years down the track and still feeling the influence and impact of her communities bad day.

"I am not sure you ever get back to your full capacity. What that tells us is the profound effect disaster has on people," Anne says.

"Communities evolve through this experience, I am not sure that they ever end up just like they were, I think they end up just like they should be."

Anne fears that with the recent 12 month anniversary of the Bega Valley's experience, many people might have expected that to be the end of their pain, stress, and grief.

"It's a long process, we put a lot of emphasis on that first 12 months, what we are not so good at is knowing that the second 12 months is pretty tough as well," she says.

"The challenges continue beyond that anniversary and that's where people will be at now, there is a lot that needs to be resolved."

Anne says the expectations around recovery can compound the issue, "in most cases people have experienced something that they have never experienced before."

"You do come out of the other side of this but I think it is sometimes made more difficult if we impose expectations on people about how they should move through and experience this event."

There is much to digest in this podcast, perhaps too much to do on your own, people and services are still available to help you with that:

This special podcast series is a collaboration between The Australian Red Cross, South East NSW Primary Health Network and About Regional. In episode three, a focus on assisting children and young people affected by a disaster over the longer term.

Missed episode one? Catch up HERE.