Drought support

Anglicare Victoria has been working intensively with communities in the drought and bushfire affected North East of Victoria since 2006.

Working in practical partnerships with government bodies, schools, community organisations, commercial service providers, faith communities, local councils, welfare providers, and community and mental health services, we have

• engaged intensively with families struggling to hold themselves together as financial, mental and emotional stresses take their toll
• arranged and/or funded 147 water deliveries for families whose water supplies were literally down to the last drops
• run many events in rural and remote communities to combat isolation and benefit mental well-being
• commenced a unique pilot program giving low income people access to the expertise of commercial planners for financial counselling support
• focused on ensuring the best and most efficient use of community resources in the Diocese at all times.

We also gave children the opportunity to say how the drought and bush fires were impacting them - something generally not catered for in the responses of other service providers - through an art project run in schools which received over 1,000 drawings and photographs from students in 22 localities.

This project is not only therapeutic for the children but links us to families in rural and remote areas who had not yet been identified as needing support.

In essence Anglicare Victoria has entered a partnership with the entire community in the Diocese to combat the effects of the drought and provide support for those most severely affected.