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Newsletter 50

26 May 2017

IN THIS EDITION:

Managing Stress

Moorabool Shire Council WRISC

Partnership

Phoenix Project Call for

Recommendations

Upcoming Events

Rob Pelletier Garden Visit Wrap Up

Family Footy Trip Wrap Up

Art Project Day Terrarium Building

Wrap Up

Managing Spontaneous Volunteers

Training

Clarendon Bonfire

Moorabool Recovery—Scotsburn Fire

MANAGING STRESS

Crisis events, like natural disasters,

accidents and terror attacks can be

very distressing. It's normal to feel

upset, anxious and distressed after a

crisis. Stress caused by these events

can have impacts on all aspects of your

life.

The emotional effects of disasters may

continue for a long time. This is a

normal response to such an abnormal

experience. Here's some advice for

taking care of yourself and others,

including children. Further information

on managing stress on Page 2.

MOORABOOL SHIRE COUNCIL

WRISC PARTNERSHIP

A mobile therapy van will be used throughout

Moorabool Shire as a positive initiative to help

young victims of family violence. Moorabool Shire

Council will partner with the Women’s Resource

Information & Support Centre (WRISC) to deliver

VanGo - a new experimental model with mobile

therapy vans taking services to children affected by

family violence. Qualified staff who will travel in the

vans will provide creative arts therapy, and will have

the ability to respond to the needs of children in a

creative and timely manner. Moorabool Shire has

shown an alarming 19.1% increase in family related

violence offences over the last five years.

Addressing family violence is one of five priorities in

the Council’s Health and Wellbeing Plan and a key

issue in the Council’s Municipal Early Years Plan.

PHOENIX PROJECT CALL

FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

The Phoenix Project Steering Committee would like to know if there is anyone within the region who would like to be contacted about providing services for the Phoenix Project or if locals have any good recommendations for the following services:

Fencing

Pest Animal Control

Weed spraying

For further information please call Jane Bevelander, Environmental Project Officer on 0426 873 202 or email jane@leighcatchmentgroup.org

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The following article is an excerpt from the Red Cross publication “Looking after yourself after a crisis” and can be found at:

http://www.redcross.org.au/self-care.aspx

The emotional effects of disasters may continue for a long time. This is a normal response to such an abnormal experience. Here's some advice for taking care of yourself and others, including children.

Normal reactions to stress

It's normal to feel these reactions to a highly stressful event:

Finding it hard to think, concentrate and remember details

Restlessness, unable to relax

Problems sleeping

Muscle tension

Headaches, nausea

Feel angry, upset, sad, moody

Avoid people or not wanting them around

Further tips which may help with stress symptoms:

Accept that you have been through a highly stressful experience. Things will be different for a while and you may have strong emotional reactions. Acceptance is the first stage of recovery.

Allow time for the memories, dreams or flashbacks to fade. When you experience flashbacks or dreams, give them attention and then put them aside. Don't try to fight or suppress them, confronting the reality bit by bit can help you come to terms with it.

You may have trouble concentrating and remembering things. If this happens, use aids, write things down and do things in short bursts.

It is normal to have changing moods after stressful events, so respect your emotions even if they are not normal for you. Feeling bad usually passes quite soon, and it's best to tolerate it and see what it means rather than take it away with distractions.

If you are getting upset, angry, or distressed easily, try to plan the day so that you are not overwhelmed or exposed to upsetting or unhelpful information or experiences. This includes limiting the media coverage you read or watch.

If you have trouble sleeping, plan for quality rather than quantity of sleep. Wind down at night and spend time preparing to go to sleep; arrange to take cat-naps during the day.

Find people you trust to talk to about the event and your reactions. Talking helps to defuse feelings and make sense of things and builds bridges with others.

Take extra care of yourself. Critical incident stress makes people more susceptible to infections, accidents, emotional decisions or mistakes.

Adjust your lifestyle to your needs as they are now. Don't just do things out of habit or because you planned them some time ago if they no longer feel appropriate.

Managing Stress

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EVENTS WRAP UP

ROB PELLETIER GARDEN VISIT

On Saturday 29 April, 28 residents

attended a site visit and tour of Rob

Pelletier’s Gelenview Park Farm

hosted by himself and wife Kate.

The property has included a nursery

for at least two decades, first

growing perennials for the nursery

trade and then local provenance

native plants for re-vegetation

projects. The property boasts a

collection of over 400 varieties of

heritage and some modern fruit tree

varieties. Residents enjoyed hearing

from Rob and Kate about fire

protecting measures.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Date Event Time Location

31 May Managing Spontaneous Volun-

teers

9am-3:30pm Ballarat Town Hall

3 June Clarendon Bonfire (weather

permitting)

4:00pm Clarendon Recreation Reserve

Moorabool Shire Council

Recovery Phone Number —0400 324 551 Principal Office: 15 Stead Street, Ballan Telephone (03) 5366 7100 Postal Address: PO Box 18, Ballan VIC 3342 Email: info@moorabool.vic.gov.au

Darley Civic & Community Hub:

182 Halletts Way, Darley

Lerderderg Library:

215 Main Street, Bacchus Marsh

Website: www.moorabool.vic.gov.au

Moorabool Shire Council @mooraboolshire

FAMILY FOOTY TRIP CATS V BOMBERS

On Saturday 13 May 45 residents caught the bus from

the Scotsburn Hall to witness the Cats take on the

Bombers in a nail-biting match at the MCG. The

Bombers won the match resulting in a few sullen Cats

supporters on the journey home!

TERRARIUM BUILDING ART DAY

On Sunday 21 May Donna Hart hosted a terrarium

building day at her property in Clarendon. The day

was well attended by 18 residents with Donna pulling

out all the stops for morning tea– Well done Donna!

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SCOTSBURN FIRE RECOVERY

BONFIRE NIGHT

Saturday 3 June 2017 (WEATHER PERMITTING) Clarendon

Recreation Reserve

4:00pm-Late

This is a FREE event open to ALL ages and community members. Friends welcome.

BBQ TEA PROVIDED

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Disasters have enormous social and economic impacts on communities.

People who put their hands up and spontaneously volunteer when a disaster hits can be a great help with relief and re-

covery efforts. However, if not well managed, even the best-intentioned efforts can overwhelm communities and local

organisations, and unintentionally add to their stress and burden.

Could you or a volunteer manager or coordinator you know help har-ness the power of spontaneous emergency volunteers in disaster re-covery? Volunteering Victoria’s HelpOUT Service, including the Managers of Spontaneous Emergency Volunteers (MSEV) program is

continuing to rollout statewide. The MSEV Program trains, supports, deploys and debriefs a volunteer workforce of skilled

volunteer managers to harness the power of spontaneous emergency volunteers during relief and recovery activities

Undertaking the MSEV Program, participants will build their understanding of:

the emergency management structure and arrangements in Victoria

what it is like to manage and support spontaneous volunteers in an emergency

context

the disruptive impact of an emergency

the changed emotional state of people in affected communities

the political and media environment and its impact on relief and recovery efforts.

Attending a training session is an essential part of the preparation and selection process for becoming a Manager of Sponta-

neous Emergency Volunteers. Please note this is a volunteer role.

We now invite registrations for our next training sessions in Ballarat and Bendigo

Ballarat Town Hall Bendigo City Council

Wednesday 31 May

9:00am– 3:30pm

https://tinyurl.com/lkppoee

R egistrations

now open

See below for details

An invitation to join an elite

v olunteer workforce

Need more information?

Visit www.volunteeringvictoria.org.au/emergency-volunteering/managers-of-spontaneous-emergency-volunteers/

Or call Alison Duff, MSEV Project Coordinator on 03 5221 1377, Monday to Friday 9am– 5pm or email a.duff@volunteeringvictoria.org.au

MSEV training is developed and delivered in collaboration with Australian Red Cross.

Volunteering Victoria acknowledges the support of the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments through the Natural Disaster Resilience Grants Scheme.

Thursday 8 June

9:00am– 3:30pm

https://tinyurl.com/lf7a8tl