Parts of Victoria were severely damaged last week with bushfires burning over 6,760 acres of land and destroying at least 44 homes in the Grampians, while 60,000 homes across the state remained without power late last week (down from the peak of 530,000 homes) following severe storms which impacted Eastern Victoria and in particular the Gippsland Lakes region.

Two of ARRCH’s members, Grampians Community Health and Gippsland Lakes Complete Health have been at the centre of these emergencies.  They have been on the ground supporting their communities and will be at the forefront of helping to heal and rebuild these communities.

Grampians Community Health is running the emergency relief centre while Gippsland Lakes Complete Health is on the ground offering the immediate, vital support needed by their community.

ARRCH stands in solidarity with our partners and our thoughts are with their communities and teams as they work tirelessly throughout these serious emergencies.

Once again, these recurrent natural disasters highlight the need for a permanent Community Resilience and Recovery program and workforce to support communities.  ARRCH has been advocating for such a workforce for the past 12 months, and you can find more information on our advocacy in this space here.

We stand united with you and we wish you and your communities a speedy recovery.

For the full media release detailing our call for a permanent Community Recovery and Resilience program, click here.