Following the devastating January bushfires in Harcourt and surrounds, we worked with our community to support fire-affected residents across the shire.
We’re proud to have worked with volunteers, local businesses and community members to do deliver the following support:
Community food pantry and recovery hub support
- We opened our community food pantry on the Saturday and Sunday immediately following the fire.
- We extended the operating hours of both our community pantry and our Services Australia support team during the week after the fires to support people attending the Castlemaine Emergency Recovery Hub.
- We acted as the central food relief distribution point for Castlemaine and the surrounding areas.
- We collected, sorted and distributed donated food to displaced community members living locally as well as the Harcourt Relief Centre.
- We partnered with Woolworths to distribute over 250 food hampers to impacted communities via the Castlemaine Emergency Recovery Hub.
- We coordinated with local restaurants and volunteers to deliver approximately 100 fresh meals per day to the Harcourt Relief Centre.
- We provided two weeks of daily community lunches at the Harcourt Relief Centre from Friday 16 January. We then provided community lunches two days a week until the end of March.
- We provided sit-down meals for over 300 people.
Support for children and families
We offered a free daily school holiday program for fire-affected families in the week before school started.
This was designed for children from families impacted or displaced by the fire, families involved in recovery efforts and CFA families.
The program provided parents and carers with breathing space to focus on recovery.
10-14 children attended each program.
Community check-in sessions
We facilitated community check-In sessions for Mount Alexander Shire residents, including those from surrounding areas who were required to evacuate.
These sessions were designed to support people in processing stress and trauma from fire event.
The sessions were developed in collaboration with a local climate psychologist who volunteered her time.
We also hosted a session with the same climate psychologist on how to support children post-disaster. We held sessions across Castlemaine, Harcourt and Taradale, with 20 registrations.
Volunteer Coordination and Recovery Planning
We established a volunteer registration system to capture offers of help, which included skills and equipment.
We’re now the central contact point for volunteer offers.
We’d like to thank everyone who has supported us at community house over the past few months. We wouldn’t have been able to deliver the huge amount of recovery aid to our friends in Harcourt and surrounds without your support.
If you’re interested supporting community house, become a Friend of Castlemaine Community House.
By becoming a friend, you’re helping us:
- Keep our programs affordable and accessible.
- Stock our free food pantry and offer meal fee waivers to those doing it tough.
- Fund unfunded community wellbeing programs and pay the wages of staff who provide critical community support.
- Offer scholarships and discounted courses for those facing hardship.
- Continue to host vital community services like free tax help, mental health support, employment advice, and health checks.
