Prevention and Detection of Suicide and Mental Illness for Frontline Workers and Community Members

Dokotela Psychiatry, in collaboration with Community Links Wellbeing and SWS Primary Health Network, will be hosting a FREE Webinar for frontline workers and the community from areas affected by the 2019-2020 bushfires.

The webinar will cover the following topics:

The impacts of traumatic stress

• Resources to help yourself, family and friends suffering after a traumatic event
• How to identify people at risk of suicide or suffering emotional disturbance
• How to encourage your family member, friend or colleague to seek help
• What you should do if someone expresses suicidal intent

WEBINAR: Community Members

WHEN: Tuesday 4th May 2021 at 6pm

Register here

WEBINAR: Frontline Workers

When: Tuesday 18th May 2021 at 6pm

Register here

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out on swsphn@dokotela.com.au or contact Emma on 0412 757 258.

Saturday, 10 April 2021 | 03:30 PM to 08:30 PM

We will be holding a FREE Community Recovery Concert to bring joy and community re-connection, in acknowledgement of the long recovery process on the back of the bush fires of 2019/20.

The concert will feature:

• Mahalia Barnes
• X Factor Finalists ‘Matt & Jess’
• Justice Crew
• Michelle Cashman

There will be free face painting, balloon twisting and jumping castles, with local food vans providing food available for purchase.

A free shuttle has been organised to and from the event for residents of the Northern and Southern Villages - if you would like to reserve your seat on the bus please email communityrecovery@wsc.nsw.gov.au or call 02 4868 0888.

Gates open at 3.30pm with the concert to finish around 8.30pm.

Book your tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/community-recovery-concert-tickets-147213061229

In October 2020, Council delivered Bushfire Recovery Community Workshops in partnership with Resilience NSW. The workshops were an opportunity for conversation about what is needed now to support recovery and to help build community resilience.

Click here to view a summary of the key themes coming out of the workshops, what we heard from communities about recovery needs and how Council has been responding.

The Stories Toward Regeneration project is a series of wellbeing and creative workshops that will utilise the experiences of participants to tell a story. The creative works can take on any common medium such as poetry, painting, spoken word – you will be guided to choose. Observers who do not wish to create are also welcome. At the completion of this project, the finished works will sit on a dedicated interactive website.

To book a place and find out more information about this workshop please follow this link or call 0408 617 143.

https://www.yoursaywingecarribee.com.au/52173/widgets/278917/documents/197270

"Stories to Heal Us” is an intentionally designed therapeutic art workshop created in response to the needs of the people within the Wingecarribee LGA in the wake of the devastating Green Wattle Creek and Morton Bushfires, followed shortly by the whirlwind of COVID-19 restrictions.

Come together in a creative space to tell your unique story and heal from the impact of the 2020 bushfires. You will be guided to explore your story through written word, art or spoken word.

All materials will be provided, along with refreshments to nourish us!

No prior experience is needed to participate in the workshops and we welcome all community members, as well as families to come together, as we know there is a story in all of you worth sharing.

To book a place at this workshop please contact Wildflower Holisitic Services on 02 4684 1080 or info@wildflowerholisticservices.com .

Properties identified by Council as being potentially eligible to qualify for the EPA’s Bushfire-Generated Green Waste Clean-Up and Processing Program are being contacted by mail and email. This initiative expects to manage tonnes of waste generated by the bushfires, including green waste that would otherwise present significant environmental, safety and bushfire risk including remaining bushfire affected hazardous trees.

To be considered for the green waste program you must meet guidelines, and return the Consent to Enter form. You can fill in the PDF form or print, sign and photograph to email it back to bushfiregrant@wsc.nsw.gov.au

The program requires:

• consent to allow our contract arborists to rapidly assess a property for eligibility between 15 February and 19 March 2021, and
• a report back to the EPA by Council to seek funding for the greenwaste to be removed from the property.

Unfortunately Council is working to a short time frame provided by the EPA to do the inspections and report back, so we appreciate your prompt response on this matter. Click here to read the letter and form.

To register your interest please quickly complete and return the form by 12 March 2021 via email to bushfiregrant@wsc.nsw.gov.au. If you have any questions please call 02 4868 0888 or send an email to bushfiregrant@wsc.nsw.gov.au.

Round two of the Bushfire Recovery and Resilience (BCRR) Small Grants Program is now open for applications and will close at midnight Wednesday 17 March 2021.

The program will provide financial support for small scale community-led recovery and resilience projects and events. Not for profit community organisations and associations based in the Wingecarribee Local Government Area can apply for one-off grants of $2,000 - $10,000. The program has a total value of $85,000.

The aim of the BCRR Small Grants Program is to support bushfire impacted communities:

• in the process of social recovery, with a focus on health and wellbeing
• provide opportunity for community connection
• strengthen community resilience.

Applications will be via the SmartyGrants portal.

The Grant Guidelines and application can be accessed here.

The PhotoVoice exhibition is being commemorated in a high quality arts publication.

In October 2020 a photographic competition was conducted which resulted in an exhibition called PhotoVoice. The community shared emotive imagery embodying resilience during that horrific time, and renewal in the period since.

Eighty photographs were exhibited in Wingello and Balmoral, revealing the heartbreak and hope of our communities in the path of the flames, starting down the road to recovery.

The PhotoVoice exhibition is now being designed into a high quality book which will bring these powerful images to life in a more traditional way.

As PhotoVoice was put together very quickly back in October, we are now offering another opportunity for people to submit photographs that they feel meet the criteria to be considered for inclusion in the book.

Find out more and send your photographs in via the ARTSfile website at artsfile.com.au/editorial/photovoice by Sunday 14 February 2021.

A similar style book was produced previously - see https://issuu.com/wscmedia/docs/thank_you

Wingecarribee Shire Council's Bush Fire Social Recovery Committee and the Southern Highlands Foundation (FireAid) are inviting photographers from across the Shire to join them as they prepare a special photo exhibition documenting last season’s ‘Black Summer’ bushfires.

In the weeks that followed the Green Wattle Creek and Morton bush fires we heard devastating tales of loss and grief. But we also learnt of remarkable stories of heroism, resilience and mateship. The idea behind this photo exhibition is to document and continue to capture a lasting record of those moments that represent the spirit and recovery of our community.

This may include images of firefighters on the fire-front, recovery of the environment or the journey of renewal.

Entitled ‘Photo Voice: Renewal and Resilience’, the exhibition is open to both professional and amateur photographers who were directly involved or affected by the 2019/20 bush fires.

Selected images and text will be featured on the ARTSfile website, exhibited at the Community Halls in Wingello (8 November) and Balmoral (15 November), and published in a book which will be available for purchase later in the year.

Entries open 9 October 2020 and close 26 October 2020

Please fill out the Entry Form at https://artsfile.com.au/editorial/photovoice, read and agree to the Terms & Conditions, upload your images following the guidelines provided and click SUBMIT.

For more information:
P 02 4868 0888
E cath.brennan@wsc.nsw.gov.au

What does your community need to recover and build resilience?

Council in partnership with Resilience NSW are hosting free facilitated community workshops to talk about bushfire recovery, what is needed now and into the future.

This is an opportunity to engage with your community and have a say in planning to support recovery and resilience.

Morning tea and a light lunch will be provided. COVID safety measures will apply and registration is a requirement.

For those unable to participate in person, an online option will be available via Zoom. Please indicate your participation choice when you register.

Workshop one: North and West Villages

• Date: Saturday 10 October 2020, 10 am to 1 pm
• Location: Mittagong RSL
• RSVP: Wednesday 7 October

Workshop two: Southern Villages

• Date: Saturday 17 October 2020, 10 am to 1 pm
• Location: Moss Vale Services Club
• RSVP: Wednesday 14 October

Click here to register

For more information contact our Community Recovery Officer, on phone 4868 0888 during business hours, Monday to Friday.