Wardell’s Community Hub and Recovery Centre
Community Organised Resilience Effort
About WardellCORE
Mission
TO IMPROVE PEOPLE’S LIVES BEYOND THE POINT OF DISASTER RECOVERY AND TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY TO CREATE A SHARED VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Scope
WardellCORE is a community-centred recovery and service hub focused on wellbeing and social care aligning with the NSW Recovery Plan. Our vision is to enable our community to deliver its own recovery journey and construct long term solutions that align with the National Principles for Disaster Recovery.
We seek to develop and resource programs in wellness and resilience that will provide a coordinated case managed mental health outreach program and series of trauma-informed community engagement activities. These will improve the community’s health and wellbeing outcomes, provide a platform for peer-to-peer mental health support and upskill the community in mental health first aid.
Partnerships
WardellCORE (Community Organised Resilience Effort) recognises the value in delivering programs with the resources and expertise of existing organisations to enhance our capabilities and increase our impact.
We seek to align with local service providers and support agencies.
We are currently in the process of developing a strategic advisory committee for WardellCORE and will hope to include participation from partnering organisations and individuals to offer professional service support, critical disaster management and community development expertise, support with governance, financial management, program implementation, enterprise development and further advocacy as required.
Project Logic
WardellCORE recognises the recommendations that clearly demonstrate that frameworks for recovery need to have two elements at their core(1) :
Every action must be considered with the community at the centre.
Every community is different
Extensive research and documentation from across the NSW and the National best practice guidelines of disaster recovery indicate that community-led recovery (2) offers a range of advantages and demonstrates that the more communities are empowered to take control of their recovery experience, the more likely they are to achieve better outcomes. (3)
Our project rationale is founded on taking an active role in enhancing social cohesion and connections to develop individual and community resilience to support our community’s ability to respond positively in times of crisis.
There is consistent evidence that anywhere between 5–40 per cent of people involved in an emergency event are at risk of sustaining severe and protracted psychological injury (4) and we believe that with sufficient resources we are best equipped to provide impactful and individualised support that is tailored to the needs and priorities of our community.
By investing in our own recovery operations, we can create valuable peer support networks and effective ecosystems of recovery in partnership with local and regional recovery agencies. This will ensure that the community has stewardship over the sustainable and enduring outcomes that are required for long term resilience, and that the recovery process is place based, supports connection to culture and country and increases the communities’ transformative capacities. (5)
Effective Disaster Recovery What lessons can we learn from Australia’s Black Saturday Bushfires? (2010) https://www.pwc.com.au/pdf/effective-disaster-recovery-jul10.pdf
How can governments enable and support community-led disaster recovery? Carole Owen, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania.(2017) https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/ajem-jan-2018-how-can-governments-enable-and-support-community-led-disaster-recovery/
The social impact of natural disasters – at what cost? https://vcoss.org.au/emergency-management/2016/03/the-social-impact-of-natural-disasters-at-what-cost/#_ftn6
https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2676751/F2F_Agenda-Setting-Report_COMPLETE_FA3.pdf
Location : NSW Regional (Wardell)
Time required : With respect to our ‘continuity of care’ commitment, we require a minimum of 1 day per fortnight for 6 months minimum or similar engagement by negotiation.
Duration of project : Ongoing
Skill area : Mental / Health Counseling, Social & Support Work
Sector : Community Development, Humanitarian, Mental Health
Application closing date : 31 Jul, 2022
About the role
Join our friendly and engaged organisation providing essential care and wellbeing programs to a wide range of rural community members in disaster recovery.
Opportunities for career development, program innovation, mentorship, disaster and trauma healing experience, community development and more.
We are seeking qualified or suitable students of Certificate IV or Diploma programs in Community Services, Youth Work or Mental Health. Graduates or students of Bachelors in Social Work or Counselling.
With respect to our ‘continuity of care’ commitment, we require a minimum of 1 day per fortnight for 6 months minimum or similar engagement by negotiation.
We will consider providing additional professional development training and opportunities for the right candidates. Be prepared to participate in a one-day trial and orientation.
These positions are currently pro-bono with opportunities for ongoing employment for the right candidates and as funding allows.
Meals and occasional stay accommodation are available.
Please send your expression of interest with a cover letter and CV to wellbeing@wardellcore.comunity