Anglicare News - Break O'Day Parish
Break O'Day Parish supports East Coast recovery.
It has been a long road to recovery for the families who were affected by the fires on the East Coast during December 2006.
Anglicare's East Coast counselling service and the Break O'Day Parish along with other community organisations offered support to those people affected by the fires during those first few days. Anglicare's sole worker on the East Coast, Thom Ryan, has continued to offer ongoing support with assistance from parish members throughout this year as people begin to rebuild their lives.
The Break O'Day Parish worked tirelessly with Thom to help distribute the material goods that were donated from all over Tasmania. What was left has been utilised for Anglicare's East Coast emergency relief program. Anglicare and the Anglican Church raised approximately $29,000 during the fire appeal.
The East Coast communities were moved by ordinary people who were so willing to assist those in need in whatever way they could.
The funds were used to buy new white goods and essential household items for those people most severely affected by the fires.
Anglicare set up a special fund so people didn't have to wait for financial help as well as offering short-term and longer term housing and any practical assistance that was needed.
'You learn that a natural disaster, a fire of that scale, is indiscriminate. I am constantly reminded how resilient most people are,' said social worker Thom Ryan.
'Many people are only just beginning to deal with their loss. Some people have already moved into their own homes again. Others have moved away.'
The Break O'Day Parish was instrumental in supporting Anglicare to help people rebuild after the fires. However, Break O'Day Parish isn't the only Anglican parish that Anglicare has a close connection to. The support that Anglicare receives from parishes around Tasmania is important in facilitating Anglicare's ability to continue to deliver services to people in need in their local communities.