Supporting Communities

​Spring is here and Western Australia is set to blossom with its incredible wildflowers.  I love the fresh smell and taste of spring in the air.  We live in challenging times with changing environmental & health conditions effecting our way of life, living conditions, our households, friends and loved ones and mental health. I have decided to become a volunteer with the Australian Red Cross as an Emergency Preparedness Session Facilitator - RediPlan Community Educator.  As a humanitarian organisation, the role of Red Cross in an emergency is to provide support to individuals and communities to reduce the impact and effects of a disaster. This includes assisting people to prepare for an emergency psychologically and practically.  I want to support my community by sharing some of my own experience in emergencies, seeing the effects it has on people and communities when we are not informed and prepared for an emergency.  I have learned many lessons through my life experience, and I want to help others by supporting them with practical knowledge to be prepared for an emergency to Think, Act and Share to Anticipate potential stress factors in an emergency, to Identify our potential reactions & thought process in an emergency and to consider how we Manage these in an emergency.  Preparedness saves lives in an emergency and improves the recovery factors.