TRANSCRIPT
Days before Christmas in 2019, the road leading into the town of Dargan, in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney revealed the devastating aftermath of a megafire which tore through the night before.
19 of 57 homes were lost, including Susan Alexander's.
“From our house all the way down the street seven houses in a row we were all completely devastated, and then you don't know what to do, you don't know what to do next and I remember telling my daughter that everything she had, her home was gone.”
This is Sally Gillespie from Psychology for a Safe Climate.
“ After a climate disaster, there's a high rate of traumatisation. If you are in an area which is likely to have repeated disasters, whether it's floods that return or fires or whatever, droughts, it weighs very heavily upon you. It really unsettles people, they go through questions of should I stay, should I go, are there ways to make this safe.”
Susan and her husband Nick wanted to stay.
It took more than 18-months to rebuild, but the tragedy of losing their home is still raw.
“We start to heal, come undone and eventually it will just be an ugly scar. Nick and I spend more time reading between two and four AM because I can't get to sleep. I used to have a recurring dream where I'd be standing in my old lounge room and it would be burning around me, I wasn't there. Your mind and your brain has such an ability to put you places that you don't want to be. And it's so important to have community you can talk to.”
From the ashes of the Black Summer fires, a new community group grew - focusing on connecting residents and supporting each other.
Kat Boehringer is the President of the Association of Bell Clarence and Dargan, also known as ABCD Inc.
“Our community, When I came here it felt like a community of hermits, it's a nice quiet part of the world, everyone comes out here because they like their peace and quiet, which is great, but not in an emergency. Our group is trying to bring all our neighbours together, when people connect they get to share their stories. And that's a part of making sense of what's happened.”
Kevin McCusker is the treasurer of ABCD Inc and lost his nursery in the fires.
“We had a community event at the nursery and I could see that they were hurt and I really wanted to do something about that. So it became really important for me for us to be there for other people so we could actually help them.”
Sally Gillespie says support should be given to community-led initiatives.
“What we need is government funding for community led initiatives, communities know what they need to look after themselves. What I hear from bushfire survivors, flood survivors, is a lot of people coming into the area, doing a lot of talking and not much listening.”
Creating a wider network is important for building disaster preparedness and recovery.
Kat Boehringer again:
“A problem faced on your own can feel insurmountable, but together it’s a problem shared.”
If you or you know needs support, call Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
