|
Community
Emergency
Displan
When disaster
strikes, the churches work together as part of the State Disaster Plan (Displan)
to assist people and communities to begin the process of recovery.
The Anglican Diocese
of Melbourne recognises that its ministry, in times of disaster, is co-ordinated
through the Victorian Council of Churches and is part of the State Disaster
Recovery Program.
Parishes or clergy
offering assistance should do so through the organisation which is in place.
The Churches State
Disaster Co-Ordinator is appointed by the Victorian Council of Churches.
Any enquiries can be
addressed to Beth Lang at
Diocesan Services.
The role
of the churches in the event of an emergency
A process for
response to a Critical Emergency or Disaster has been agreed to by the Victorian
Government (Department of Human Services), and the Victorian Council of
Churches. The VCC has been given the responsibility of initiating and
co-ordinating the work of Visiting Teams. Any response by parishes or clergy
should follow this plan of action.
Any response to an
emergency by parishes or clergy should work in a co-operative way with the VCC
so that offers of assistance do not add to the confusion or the sense of crisis
which communities often experience.
As a result of
recent Government Legislation, Victoria is divided into nine regions and in each
region the Victorian Council of Churches has appointed a Regional Co-ordinator
and a number of Area Co-ordinators. In the event of a disaster or critical
emergency they have the responsibility of organising a team of authorised people
drawn from locally trained personnel.
The task of trained
response teams is to visit all those affected by the event, to leave information
and to obtain information for referral to designated agencies, so that
appropriate measures can be taken. These will include material needs,
counselling and other support services. Other organisations such as the Red
Cross and the Salvation Army also have designated responsibilities.
Regional and Area
Co-ordinators receive ongoing training and resources to fulfil their role.
What else
can we do?
Over the years the
churches have developed a great deal of experience in responding to disasters.
We have identified people
skilled in counselling who have assisted in the recovery process.
| 
