The Care through Disaster Community of Practice (CoP) is a space for people to explore the ideas presented within the Care through Disaster project – what does it take to care and be cared for through times of disaster, and how can we put these ideas into practice. 

We were absolutely thrilled by the turn out we had to our first Care through Disaster Community of Practice. Facilitated by Amanda Kelly (WHGNE) and Millie Rooney (Australia reMADE), the group was made up of a diverse range of voices in the session, including people who identified as mums, carers, volunteers, people with lived experience of disasters and paid workers in emergency response/ management, local and state government, community legal centres and more.  

The participants brought a range of skills and expertise into the group ranging from advocacy to community development, case work to research and health promotion to leadership experience in a variety of settings. And more importantly perhaps, this group brought a passion and enthusiasm for caring for their communities.  

The intention of this first CoP session was to get to know each other and to focus on the broad insights and recommendations from the Care through Disaster reports. As Millie pointed out, relationships are disaster preparedness infrastructure, and we have to start valuing the time it takes to invest in them (even when we don’t see an immediate outcome). 

This first session focused on the Care through Disaster recommendation “Invest in connection: people, places, projects. People need access to inviting spaces where the lights are on, the doors are open and the coffee is free”. WHGNE and Australia reMADE wanted to showcase the importance of relationships, and that time spent relationally, is work. Caring relationships are infrastructure for resilient communities.  

After a brief overview of the Care through Disaster work and the partnership between WHGNE and Australia reMADE, participants were put into breakout rooms to spend time connecting and building this important infrastructure. In the first breakout room, participants introduced themselves and their work/areas of interest, as well as the skills they bring to the space and any questions that they may have had. It was lovely to receive feedback from a participant that they “didn’t feel out of place as a volunteer with professional people” 

The second half of our time together was spent reflecting on the three guiding questions from Care through Disaster: A new lens on what’s needed to survive and thrive in tumultuous times. These questions help leaders of all sorts to really reflect on the bigger implications of various policies and programs.  
 

It was obvious that there was a huge amount of depth and expertise across the groups. While we can’t capture everything from these conversations, here are some of the key themes and questions people raised.  

Conversations showed that the findings of the Care through Disaster reports were not earth shattering for the people in the room (unsurprisingly, seeing many of them had provided the information and insights the reports are built on!). What was powerful however, was the act of asking questions together, articulating challenges together and sharing the details of successes and failures. 

It is one thing to read about community engagement in a report and another to articulate shared challenges and frustrations in a group. There was a palpable excitement about the potential to learn from each other and to find ways to collaborate to strengthen existing approaches, ensure that we remain united rather than divided and to push for the bigger changes that need to happen to enable us to all do the work that needs to be done.  

While we may not have all the answers, our aim is to create a space where we can forge a shared vision. One participant offered a compelling analogy from disaster response, suggesting that, much like the human body—where each part functions in its own way yet contributes to the whole—we don’t need a rigid hierarchy, but rather a common approach that extends the care seen in disaster recovery. This approach should be supported by government and grounded in shared values of respect and inclusivity, ensuring that no one is left behind. 

We are excited to continue building on these discussions, thoughts and themes in our next CoP session on May 28. You can register for the CoP here if you haven’t already!