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Community program
Disaster Recovery
The Lifeline Community Leadership Program, training, debriefing and ongoing support for the community leaders who hold their neighbourhoods together after a disaster.
If life is in danger, call Triple Zero (000). For 24/7 crisis support, call 13 11 14.
Why the program exists
The Lifeline Community Leadership Program is an initiative begun after experiencing the devastation of the 2019–2020 bushfires that impacted many regions on the Mid North Coast of NSW, destroying homes, property and the natural environment.
The tragedy of death was felt with lives lost. These losses were further compounded by the loss of livestock and of our local fauna and flora. Here on the Mid North Coast, our koala population was brought to the brink of extinction.
Working alongside recovery teams
Lifeline Mid Coast was invited by a number of local councils to become part of their Disaster Recovery Teams, alongside Red Cross, BlazeAid, RAMHP, the Army Reserves, council employees and Resilience NSW.
During these visits we quickly discovered that the natural leaders of our communities were already providing crisis support as part of their leadership activities. However, many were overwhelmed by the events of the bushfires and were struggling to cope with the enormity of the devastation.
What we built, with our communities
With input from the communities impacted by the bushfires, Lifeline Mid Coast developed the Lifeline Community Leadership Program, designed to provide training and ongoing support to community leaders, and where useful to whole community teams.
After some research, Accidental Counsellor training was considered the most beneficial resource to offer, along with a program of ongoing support that includes:
- Debriefing
- Reflective-style supervision
- Community meetings that allow the development of skills and the celebration of milestones
Who leads it
Lifeline Mid Coast’s Community Leadership Coordinator develops community relationships and coordinates training, debriefing and reflective supervision. As part of the community meetings, they are there for guidance and may offer other professional development alternatives depending on community need.
Get involved
If your community has been affected by a natural disaster, or you lead a group that could use this support, please get in touch or call (02) 6581 2800.
Bring the program to your community
If your community group or council would like to talk about the Community Leadership Program, get in touch.
Explore more
You might also find these helpful.
Accidental Counsellor
The training at the heart of this program: how to listen, respond and refer.
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Mind Your Mates
Practical mental health awareness for community groups and clubs.
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Suicide Prevention Programs
The wider set of local programs we run across the Mid Coast.
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