A lived experience community development practitioner will be speaking at Olinda Community House on Friday 10 June as part of the community’s storm recovery.
Michelle Dunscombe, community resilience and recovery expert, facilitated Kinglake community members to harness their own skills and tools they needed to rebuild after Black Saturday, and will impart her knowledge as the Dandenong Ranges commemorates one year since the June storms.
“I went to a training with her and it was so inspiring, she was saying that within the community of Kinglake, they sat down and realised they had everything they needed to rebuild,” Krystal Bassett, Community Development Lead at Olinda Community House said.
“The only positive thing to come out of the storm is the fact that the community has come together, and we’ve been supporting each other. For this to continue and to further solidify our knowledge, we’re having Michelle come in to tell us her experience and how we can do that together.”
“Every community member has a skill or idea to input and everyone’s voice is important.”
Leading up to the storm anniversary, Yarra Ranges Council allocated a total pool of $6000 for existing not-for-profit community groups and small community organisations located in storm impacted Yarra Ranges communities to host free small events/activities for storm impacted community members between Friday 27 May and Friday 24 June.
Community groups or small not-for-profit organisations were given the chance to request funding of up to $400 per activity/event.
“I’m looking forward to hearing about Michelle’s experience and for community members to come along to talk about how we can support each other and plan the steps to take before the next emergency,” Hills Creative Alliance secretary Liz Millman said.
Those interested can call 97511264 or visit bit.ly/RecoveryOlinda to register for the free event which will take place from 10:00am to 12:00pm.
