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  DISASTER RESPONSE NETWORK NEWS
A quarterly update of the APS Disaster Response Network (DRN)

March 2015

Dear Sir/Madam,

Hello to all,

Apologies for another newsletter hot on the tail of last week's, but the recent cyclone disasters in the NT and QLD have resulted in a lot of psychosocial recovery work that DRN members may be able to assist with. The Red Cross have asked for our support for three different operations, which I've listed below. We have DRN members participating in 4 day deployments in Rockhampton as Welfare Wellbeing Officers, and a group of stalwart DRN psychologists phoning returned Red Cross Workers to do wellbeing checks after their deployments in central QLD. A huge thank you to all of you who have already volunteered. 

If any additional DRN members have time in the coming weeks to do some independent debriefing over the phone, that would be enormously appreciated. We are also expecting Red Cross workers currently deployed in the Northern Territory to need independent debriefs on their return, so our need for support is quite high at the moment. 

I've also added a few additional items of interest in the newsletter, one being a reminder of the support group training in SA in April, and the other being an interesting documentary project involving a group of young Aboriginal men in Ramingining, one of the small communities that has been severely impacted by Cyclone Lam.  Support comes in many forms!

Kind regards,

Dr Susie Burke
Public Interest, Environment and Disaster Response

DRN Volunteers needed for independent debriefing of Red Cross workers responding to Cyclone Marcia

The Red Cross have sent the APS a growing list of returned Red Cross workers needing independent debriefing following their deployment in Rockhampton in the aftermath of Cyclone Marcia. Conditions in Central QLD sound quite tough - people have been without electricity for an extended time, there has been frustration with conflicting information and promise of resources that have not eventuated, and people are getting short-tempered, which is being taken out on emergency services and recovery workers. 

The main purpose for the independent debriefing is to ensure people’s wellbeing is checked when they have returned to their normal life after an emergency activation.

To register your interest in being a DRN volunteer to do some telephone independent debriefing for the Red Cross please email us at drn@psychology.org.au and write independent debriefing in the subject line.

DRN volunteers for 4 day Red Cross deployments

The Red Cross have also asked the APS for psychologists to do four day deployments as welfare wellbeing officers out of the Rockhampton office.  Psychologists will provide on-the-ground support for Red Cross workers in recovery centres in the cyclone affected communities.  Our first psychologist has been in the field since Saturday, and we are lining up some additional DRN members to follow.

Psychologists volunteering for this role would need the following:
•Availability for 4 day deployment (plus travel time)

•Skills in the provision of psychosocial support for people affected by disasters or emergencies  (including an understanding of Psychological First Aid, community recovery, familiarity with the IASC guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency settings)

• An understanding of the personal support model used by the Australian Red Cross

• Experience in working with volunteers (including provision of peer support, ability to work within a team)

• Knowledge and skills in the area of self-care

If you are interested in this role now or in the future, please contact us at DRN@psychology.org.au and write welfare wellbeing officer in the subject line. 

As always with disaster recovery work, the situation changes from day to day.  Whilst the Red Cross are keen for volunteers right now, this may change in a few days, so apologies for any frustrations and uncertainties that this provides. This role has been much appreciated by the Red Cross, and we are hoping that this sort of psychologist involvement can become a standard part of what the Red Cross provides following large scale disasters like this one, so we would be pleased to hear from you even if you are not available for this particular mission.

 

 

South Australia

Disaster support group training Adelaide 2nd April

Australian Red Cross and the APS are partnering to run a disaster support group workshop for mental health professionals with experience in running groups, who also have experience in disaster recovery or other areas of traumatic stress or grief. Following the workshop, the Red Cross is planning to offer support groups to communities in the Adelaide Hills fire-affected regions, but also will consider doing so for any future disasters.

After the workshop we may ask you to volunteer time to facilitate monthly support groups of 1 to 2 hours as part of Red Cross Psychosocial Recovery programs.  Groups might involve travel to rural communities and may need to be in the evening, and could last for more than a year. 

The Adelaide workshop will take place on Thursday April 2nd, from 9am to 1pm at the Adelaide Red Cross office,
212 Pirie Street, Adelaide. It will be facilitated by Dr Rob Gordon.

If you think you would be suitable and can commit to conducting support groups following a disaster, please email us at drn@psychology.org.au by Tuesday March 24th, including an up-to-date CV. Please write 'support group training' in the subject line. 

Other Northern Territory initiatives

Support for a documentary in the cyclone affected outback communities of remote Australia

One of the communities that bore the brunt of Cyclone Lam in the Northern Territory, Ramingining, is the home of four young Indigenous men from Arnhem Land, who have been trying to show another side of life in remote communities: taking control of their lives, being on country and living off the land. The first series is awesome, as the guys show the outside world this amazing bush life of hunting and living off the land, stories of survival, adventure, cars and near disasters. 

Now they are living in the aftermath of a real disaster, Cyclone Lam, that has destroyed hundreds of homes and left many without power, water and homes.  So I thought I'd pass on news about this pozible campaign to raise funds for another series of documentaries of their life in Arnhem land. The documentary is not about the disaster, but about aspects of their life in a remote community.  It's another positive way in which people can assist with the long term recovery of people living in cyclone affected communities. 

http://www.pozible.com/project/190802

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