By Justin RouillonWednesday 27 Apr 2022NewsReading Time: 2 minutes
Riverlife Baptist Church in Seventeen Mile Rocks will host a Flood Recovery Forum this Thursday April 28 from 5:30pm.
The Flood Recovery Forum has been organised alongside Cr Sarah Hutton, Councillor for the Jamboree Ward in Brisbane’s western suburbs. It’s a free event for anyone who was affected by the recent flooding in South East Queensland, and will bring together a range of service providers to assist residents in moving forward following the disaster.
Cr Hutton told 96five that there’s still a long road to recovery for many flood affected residents in her ward located in the south-west of the city.
“I’ve been saying that this journey is a marathon and not a sprint; unfortunately it’s going to take us a little while to get back into our houses and back into normal life.
“That’s where the concept of this flood recovery forum came from, because we want to arm locals with as much information as possible.”
The forum will make face to face discussions possible with organisations such as the Insurance Council of Australia, Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, but will also have a focus on mental health, resilience and coping strategies.
Cr Hutton said that while that flooding has been hard on everyone, this year’s disaster has brought to the surface what many went through in 2011.
“This event has come with a range of mental health statuses – some people are reliving that trauma from 2011 while some people have been really optimistic about the future.
“I’m really happy that at the forum we’ll have a presentation from clinical psychologist Dr Tammy White who will talk to people about how to look after your mental health in this recovery process.
“Mental health is a really important part of the future for flood affected residents, and it’s also important that they manage it well. Some of the trauma that happened in 2011 wasn’t managed and I think it’s really important that we make sure people get as much support as they can.”
Dr Tammy White will discuss ways individuals and the community can recover and move forward from the floods of 2022.
The Flood Recovery Forum is on this Thursday April 28 from 5:30pm at Riverlife Baptist Church, 47 Jennifer Street, Seventeen Mile Rocks. Anyone who has been affected by the floods is welcome, with a sausage sizzle also available from 5:30.
Forum exhibitors include:
- Insurance Council of Australia (Suncorp, A&G and QBE)
- Inala Housing Service Centre (Dept. of Housing)
- Salvation Army
- St Vincent de Paul
- 4Voices
- Brisbane City Council
- 4074 Community & Beyond
- Energex
- Queensland State Small Business & Training
- NLR – Water Fire Mould Reconstruction
- Queensland Reconstruction Authority – Get Ready Queensland!
- Oxley Uniting Church