A round up of news......
16 January 2020

Important News: Support during bushfires
Victorian Council of Social Service

• The latest information about current emergencies can be found at VicEmergency and ABC. Information about relief and recovery centres is also available at VicEmergency.

• Check out the Environment Protection Authority Victoria guide to protecting your health when it is smoky outside.
• You can check current air quality around Victoria at EPA Airwatch.

• The Andrews Government has announced a new permanent dedicated agency to guide bushfire recovery – Bushfire Recovery Victoria (BRV). Further updates regarding the work of Bushfire Recovery Victoria will be available at vic.gov.au/brv.

• For anyone needing financial assistance and advice, financial counsellors provide a professional service. They are regulated by Federal legislation and employed by not-for-profit community organisations to provide information, advice and advocacy support free of charge, assisting people in dealing with life situations involving debt and hardship, dealing with creditors and stabilising finances. The National Debt Helpline is staffed by financial counsellors and can be contacted on 1800 007 007.
  
  Further, rural financial counsellors work with farmers, offering free and independent financial support to primary producers and non-agriculture related small businesses. The Rural Financial Counselling Service can be contacted on 1300 735 578.
   
• People can also access information about financial assistance from the Victorian and Australian Government, and Australian Red Cross emergency grants.
  
  Australians who have been impacted by bushfires in declared regions can claim disaster payments through Services Australia (Centrelink).
  
  To find out more about how to apply for an emergency payment in Victoria visit the Australian Governments Victorian Bushfires webpage. You can also call 180 22 66.

• Information about insurance is available through:
• Bushfire insurance guide
• Understand insurance – bushfires
• Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

• Anyone needing legal advice should contact Disaster Legal Help Victoria on 1800 113 432. Disaster Legal Help provides free legal advice, assistance and referrals to Victorians affected by a disaster. Call 1800 113 432 or head to: http://disasterlegalhelp.org.au
  
  The Australian Government Disaster Assist website provides information on recovery payments.

• The Helping Homes website shows people across the country who are opening up their homes to those who need somewhere to stay http://helpinghomes.com.au. Hosts offering accessible accommodation for people who have had to relocate due to bushfires can be found at:
• Accessible Accommodation https://bit.ly/2ZO1guE
• Find A Bed Australia https://facebook.com/Findabedau/

• Support for children and young people is available through:
• Community Trauma Toolkit for workers, parents and carers   
• Trauma and Grief Network for children and families
• Birdie’s Tree: Growing together through natural disasters for infants, young children and families.

• Every Australian Counts is bringing together all of the information they have as it comes out for people with disability and families affected by the bushfires.
• You can access this information here https://bit.ly/2ZVEK37

• The Council for Intellectual Disability has created an Easy English bushfire information guide for people with intellectual disability in NSW (but most of the guide is relevant for Victorians too). Download the guide here.
• The CFA (Country Fire Authority) has an Easy English guide on how to stay safe in a bushfire. Download the guide here.
• Expression Australia has bushfire safety guides in Auslan for the Deaf community. Watch the videos here.
• Expression Australia also share Auslan bushfire updates via their Facebook page.
• Early Connections Alliance has developed a Bush Fire Social Story for children that explains bushfires. Download the social story here.
• IDEAS Disability Information has an easy-to-follow guide to packing for an emergency. Read it here.

• There is information about health and wellbeing in Community factsheets – Bushfires and the Recovery Hour, Life after Disasters and Emergencies podcast.

• Donations can be made through the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Disaster Relief and Recovery, The Salvation Army Disaster Appeal and Community Enterprise Foundation Bushfire Disaster Appeal. Many relief agencies ask people not to donate material goods.

• For community organisations on the front line the linked resource, On the frontline in emergencies, is a practical emergency response, relief and recovery guide.

• After-hours healthcare resource - Baw Baw
• After-hours healthcare resource - Latrobe

• Federation University and the Inner Gippsland Children and Youth Area Partnership Research Collaboration are holding a free 'Communities of knowledge and practice: New ways forward' Symposium on 14 February in Churchill. This symposium aims to promote a research/practice dialogue and better connect those in the sector, as they work towards improving outcomes for our most vulnerable children, families and young people.  
• The Family Violence Workforce Census has been extended until 28 February to encourage more people to have their say. The census is for all workers in Victoria’s health, community services, justice, education and training sectors who sometimes come across with victims of family violence or perpetrators.
• Gippsland Women's Health are facilitating Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) Collaborative Practice Training to professionals across Gippsland - click here to see the range of courses offered throughout 2020. To assist individuals and agencies assess appropriate training requirements, Gippsland Women's Health have also developed a simple Training Guide.
• The TAFE Gippsland ‘Skills First Reconnect’ program has been given additional funding to support some extra applications. This program supports learners that may experience a barrier to learning and transitioning to the workforce.
• Saver Plus matches your savings dollar-for-dollar, up to $500. Click here to view a short video about Stacey’s Saver Plus journey - a free program that provides financial education, budgeting and savings tips and helps families to pay for education costs. For more information, contact  Rick, Berry Street, phone: (03) 5120 2542 or email: rpemberton@berrystreet.org.au.