Pictured: North Townsville Community Hub Community Recovery Hub.
Our thoughts are with the communities affected by the heavy rainfall and flooding in North Queensland this week and last. Neighbourhood Centres are on the ground offering a helping hand to their communities whether it be as a Community Recovery Hub, sharing essential information and updates, providing referrals or as a place to simply have a warm cup of tea and a chat.
North Townsville Community Hub (NOTCH), Rollingstone and District Community Association, Community GRO Upper Ross Community Centre and Burdekin Community Association Inc are all operating as formal Community Recovery Hubs where affected residents are directed to be supported with grant applications, emotional and wellbeing support and referrals. More information is available here.
We have heard repeatedly of Ingham being cut off by floods, impacting electricity supply and recovery efforts. Hinchinbrook Neighbourhood Centre, located in Ingham, has been directly affected and the Centre was forced to close for a period. Local and state governments are increasingly recognising the importance of Neighbourhood Centres buildings to be resilient to disasters, allowing them to support their communities when they need it most.
We also want to acknowledge the work of the following Neighbourhood Centres who are supporting their communities through the floods Althea Projects Inc., Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre, Prospect Community Services Ltd., Better Together Community Support, Babinda Taskforce, Mura Kosker Sorority Incorporated, Community Support Centre Innisfail Inc, Cooktown District Community Centre, ECHO, Hambledon House Community Centre, Kuranda Neighbourhood Centre, Manoora Neighbourhood Centre, Mareeba Community Centre, Marlin Coast Neighbourhood Centre, Mossman Support Services, NPA Family and Community Services, Ravenshoe Community Centre, Port Douglas Neighbourhood Centre, Tully Support Centre Inc and Weipa Community Care Association.
A media release on ‘Disaster support activated for northern Queensland communities’ is available here.
For further information, a ‘Whole of Government Public Information Update’ on the weather events is available here.