Victorian youth caught up in Black Summer bushfires funded to lead recovery and planning
14 March 2022
Published by: https://www.abc.net.au
AUSTRALIA – Long after the smoke had settled from bushfires that ravaged Corryong more than two years ago, 20-year-old Quinn Obran felt an important part of her community was overlooked.
“When it came to the supporting of youth in the town, the help that was received was somewhat of an assumption of ‘what youth needed’,” she said.
That feeling of helplessness as a young person in a recovering community spurred her to travel to a university in Wollongong to study social work.
She now wants leaders to better involve young people to help rebuild their communities after disasters.
“One of the main reasons I got into [social work] was how neglected we felt after the bushfires when it came to the mental health services, and I suppose now this is a job I can bring back with me to Corryong,” she said.
Futureproofing recovery
Ms Obran will be among a cohort of youth who can join a nearly $10 million project being rolled out across eight Victorian local government areas that will allow young people to lead local bushfire recovery efforts and futureproof their communities.
The two-year Future Proof: Young People, Disaster Recovery and (Re)building Communities project is being led by Youth Affairs Council Victoria and funded by an Australian government Black Summer Bushfire Recovery grant, and is due to begin in winter.
Future Proof will include qualification pathways for 150 local young people to kickstart careers in emergency management and community services.
Youth Affairs Council Victoria rural project coordinator Carla Hall said young people have been crying out for a seat at the table to drive local recovery in bushfire affected communities.
“They were telling us they wanted to look into job pathways in terms of working with emergency service organisations, they wanted to develop more social connection and recovery opportunities where they can come together and be socially included, as well as building their resilience over time.”
The project is expected to help brace regional and rural communities for future disasters as it delivers training places in sectors including emergency services, mental health and community development.
‘We just want to see the results’
The Future Proof project, which will roll out youth workers in some regional towns, excites young people like Ms Obran.
Already, the young people of Corryong have helped drive development of a skate park and mountain bike trails after the bushfires, and are eager to do more.
“We are ready to progress now,” Ms Obran said.
“We’re tired of what can be done to make people feel happier or how to make people feel more motivated.
“We are doing that through the progression of these projects. We just want to see the results.”
Ms Obran said fostering that connection to community will pay off in future.
“Things like that it will establish a stronger connection to home and I’m sure people will want to come back,” she said.
Future Proof will support young people and services across Mansfield, Wellington, Towong, Indigo, Wodonga, Alpine, Wangaratta, and East Gippsland local government areas.
