Supporting disaster-affected communities in regional Australia with creative recovery initiatives

The incidence of environmental disasters in Australia are increasing. Moreover, they are expected to continue on an upward trajectory, leaving regional and rural communities in a highly vulnerable and precarious situation. Evaluating initiatives that support communities is essential to understand how best to help people process these events. This report is based on an evaluation of a Creative Recovery Network training programme supported by Arts Mid North Coast. The project was designed to support communities to build resilience in the aftermath of a disaster using creative processes. The evaluation used an action research frame that informed practice in real time by sharing data with stakeholders throughout. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered and coded for thematic analysis. The evaluation included interviews, focus groups and surveys. The evaluation showed how the training provided the participants, all from disaster-affected communities, with a space to creatively express and process the many emotions that had arisen from their experiences. The training provided participants with tools that were successfully used in creative recovery workshops in their local communities. This paper reports on the Arts Mid North Coast and the Creative Recovery Network partnership project.