Youth share flood experiences

YOUTH Affairs Council Victoria has met with Loddon youngsters in a fact-finding visit to prepare its submission to the Victorian Parliament inquiry on last October’s flood emergency.

CEO Katherine Ellis and her team spoke with people impacted by floods across Loddon, Buloke and Gannawarra Shires.

Katherine also met with North Central LLEN and Northern District Community Health to talk about their experiences and find out about initiatives to support young people as they recovered from floods under the BLG Umbrella grants.

Over lunch in Boort, a group of students from Boort District School and Summerwave performer Elias Lanyon met with the YacVIC team.

They talked about the impact of the floods on young people at a critical time on the school calendar – the lead up to VCE exams.

Year 10 students from Charlton College and their teacher Meaghan King talked about their Geography project documenting the outcomes of the 2022 floods and 2011 flood comparisons/learnings on the local business community from an economic, social and community perspective.

North Central LLEN CEO Jane Hosking said it was great to hear about this timely project, and also the way in which young people were actively engaged during the floods helping with sandbagging for their neighbours and creating levies to protect the community.

“Katherine also asked them about their recollections of the 2011 floods impacts,” she said,.

“Whilst the boys were very young at the time they had vivid memories including one boy recalling being carried out of his home on a neighbours’ shoulders to be rescued by the CFA and another speaking of his family’s experience during the six months it took for their house to be repaired,” she said.

BLG Umbrella project provided support for young people across the three shires through the engagement of a project team to coordinate a range of activities between December and April

This included the YouThrive Victoria Dreamseeds program in schools in late 2022 to facilitate their workshop on resilience, as-

Pamper songs aid to recovery

QUICK response flood recovery grants totalling $90,000 have been distributed to groups by Women’s Health Loddon Mallee.

Dingee Bush Nursing Centre has received funding for a women’s pamper day and its Dairy Queens project connecting rural women to support services. And Dingee CWA will use its grant for a weekend break trip by local women.

A weekly healthy minds and body class by the Durham Ox Farming Women’s Group is also being supported by the fund while Boort Resource and Information Centre will run a lino printing program. Dunolly Gilbert and Sullivan Society will run a Sassy Songstresses series for women singing G&S favourites.

Wedderburn Community House’s recent Mad Hatter’s Tea Party was funded by one of the grants.

piration and connection; financial support for the re-scheduled Summerwave Music Festival held in Kerang in February through the provision of free bus transport for young people living in Buloke and Loddon Shires.

Loddon Shire is finalising its submission to the inquiry before Monday’s closing date.

“We heard from flood impacted women in the region, many of whom have been displaced, that they have lost access to vital resources and local supports that operated prior to the 2022 floods,” said WHLM CEO Tricia Currie These grants have been allocated across the region to communitybased organisations that provide women with opportunities to regroup, reconnect, and recover.”