DR:FR Victoria
FRRR and our partners know that communities that are supported to build their capacity are better able to respond to the impacts of natural disasters. That’s why we have developed the Disaster Resilient: Future Ready program (DR:FR).
This multi-stage program takes a practical, inclusive approach, working with communities to understand the skills and resources needed, and any barriers that may hinder communities from being better prepared for the next natural disaster. The program focuses on local people identifying the things they believe will better prepare them in times of natural disaster.
Once this has been done, FRRR provides resources to implement the project(s) that they have identified to improve their resilience in the face of disaster.
This program operates a bit differently.
Read more below.
Victorian roll out
Thanks to support from our donor partners, including the Doc Ross Family Foundation, H & L Hecht Trust, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, Maple-Brown Family Foundation and the Sidney Myer Fund, we’re getting ready to roll out the DR:FR program in Victoria.
We have identified seven communities across the state that may be willing to participate in the DR:FR program, each of which experiences high frequencies of flooding, bushfire, drought, and / or heatwave. These communities are:
- Beaufort
- Korumburra
- Myrtleford
- Paynesville
- St Arnaud
- Whittlesea
- Yarra Junction
Learnings from the NSW pilot have informed the Victorian rollout, which has seen some fine tuning of the overall program to provide even stronger outcomes for these communities. We will work with these seven communities to learn about the challenges and opportunities, past experiences with disasters, and generally establish the community’s readiness to participate in the program.
Community consultations are currently being held. If you are a member of one of the shortlisted communities above and would like to learn more about the DR:FR program, please contact the DR:FR Lead, Nina O’Brien at info@frrr.org.au.
Following consultations, communities will be able to express interest in becoming one of three participating communities. We’ll then work with each community to identify what projects will make the biggest difference.
FRRR will play a facilitating role, connecting communities with the resources and experts they need, and with each other to share lessons along the way. The program will run during 2020/2021, and culminate in a report that other communities can learn from.
