In late March, many of our clients and staff were impacted by severe floods in the Mid-North Coast region. Our Kempsey Hub survived without damage, however surrounding streets were closed for roughly five days and our fleet of cars had to be moved off-site to avoid damage.
Amanda Davis, Lifeskills and Wellbeing Coordinator says that it was a confronting time for both clients and staff, “It was scary. We were told by many people to evacuate the Kempsey Hub in case the roads flooded and trapped us in. There was an ironic sense of calm in the air driving out of Kempsey at the time – people were being very courteous to each other on the roads. I thought to myself ‘These people have done this before!”
“The day following the evacuation, we called all of our clients to check on their safety and flood plans.” While all of our staff and clients escaped without injury or loss, the impact of these floods will have long lasting effects, both on the region physically, but also on its people emotionally.
Community Gateway staff in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven wanted to do their bit to support our northern family. Today, some staff from our Wollongong Hub delivered care packages which will be distributed to our clients over the next few days.
The care packages are filled with cleaning products, cleaning cloths, sanitiser and disinfectant. We hope that this small gesture has a positive impact and eases just some of the burden our clients are facing as a result of the floods.
Amanda added, “The current break in rain has been very welcomed by everyone. I think these care packages will be appreciated by those still cleaning up.”
For more information about Community Gateway, please call our friendly team on 1300 657 473.