Disaster planning for community members with support needs and carers

Our recent workshop series, Starting the conversation: Disaster planning for community members with support needs and carers, was a deeply meaningful experience. Across the region, people shared stories of resilience, honesty and the real challenges that come with deciding whether to stay or leave early in a disaster. The name truly fit — for many participants, this was the beginning of conversations that have long felt difficult to raise.

What we witnessed confirmed something we know well: when disaster planning includes everyone, our communities grow stronger, safer and more connected.

We’ve been especially grateful for reflections like the one below from Holly English, an artist and advocate from Byron Bay who joined one of our Inclusive Disaster Planning Workshops.

A big thank you to the NSW Reconstruction Authority’s Supporting Spontaneous Volunteers Program for making this work possible.