Pictured: Bethania Community Centre offers freshly baked bread to their community in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Our thoughts are with the communities affected by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred and the aftermath of flooding. Local Neighbourhood Centres in affected regions stepped up to support their communities where possible and when safe to do so, with some opening 24/hrs and others providing sandbags and vital supports.
While all Centres provided information and updates, Neighbourhood Centres also adapted to community needs in different ways, including:
Bethania Community Centre remained operational 24 hours a day (even after the power went off!) with the help of generous volunteers and donations of food and generators. They hosted a community BBQ as a way of saying thank you to their community for support along with giving away meals for those who have lost food during the disaster.
The Y Cannon Hill Community Centre opened to offer the use of their power, water and heating devices. Community members were invited to charge their devices, use the Centre’s phones, WiFi and laptops, boil water, microwave food, access toilets and basins and receive information and referrals to other services.
Upon reopening, Mt Gravatt Community Centre offered food parcels, warm showers and access to the laundry.
The work Yeronga Community Centre has been doing to build a more disaster resilient community has meant many in their community were well prepared, well connected and potential impact was reduced. They’re open supporting their community with information and referral services, tea, coffee and sandwiches and charging stations.
The Community Place Kalinga and Stafford handed out leftover resources from their Disaster Project last year including wind-up radio torch phone chargers and sandbags. They had previously worked with their community on disaster resilience.
The Logan Village & Districts Community Centre offered tea and coffee and charging of devices for community members who lost power.
Beenleigh Neighbourhood Centre was without power for a number of days but remained sharing relevant information for their community on their social channels. The Centre re-opened yesterday morning.
Redland Community Centre lost power and as a result, offered all the meat in their freezers free of charge to community members who were able to access the Centre safely. Their power is now restored and they will re-open today.
Varsity Lakes Community Resource Centre helped prepare their community, filling and distributing sandbags and providing information. They closed when they lost power, but are now back open and their friendly team is offering a comfy space to sit down, charge phones and enjoy a fresh barista-made coffee.
During the disaster, each Centre made decisions based on safety and capacity:
🏠 Some stayed open to provide in-person support
📱 Some Centre buildings closed whilst their staff worked remotely
🚪 Some were closed entirely for safety reasons, including loss of power and flooding.
For Centres to be able to continue to support community throughout disasters, disaster-resilient design of Centre buildings and infrastructure such as solar panels and batteries is important. Neighbourhood Centres and NCQ are advocating for these resilience measures.
While these Centres support the community, many are staffed by people who are themselves are impacted by the extreme weather events, or continue with limited staffing due to the impacts of the disaster.
To all Neighbourhood Centre staff and volunteers – a heartfelt thank you for your care and dedication.