Currently Chris, working as the Baptist Union of Victoria (BUV)s Bushfire Recovery Adviser (BRA) is working with the BUV and the Baptist Unions in NSW & ACT to develop a practical training program for their bushfire-related Community Recovery Volunteers (CRVs).  These are people selected and trained up to provide ongoing informal support for bushfire-affected families from the 2019/20 Australian bushfires.  Currently, seven key area of training and orientation are being developed, these being:

• An understanding/overview of the 2019/2020 bushfires
• The importance of psychosocial and social restoration
• The need for effective coordination and information sharing
• The challenge facing people who’ve lost their homes, of living in temporary accommodation over the winter period
• The challenge of economic restoration, particularly for primary producers and small businesses
• The complications of effective interaction with affected folk, due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown
• The ongoing debate on the role of climate change on bushfires, and subsequent effective future disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives to ensure safer communities

Press here for a report on the suggested Bushfire Volunteer Training program.

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