Preparedness works!

The number of times I have been asked, (mainly by our communications people), could you give us the stats that show that preparedness works. There’s usually an uneasy shifting of feet, averting of eyes, a bit of mumbling, and the answer “Well its not that easy…..” When I moved into the preparedness space, I made […]

Wet Day Timetable

This was often a response we got when the girls came home from primary school on a rainy day. It meant they had to stay inside and out of the rain and water. In some respects, this is no different to the situation that has been unfolding in New South Wales, as authorities urge people […]

How long is recovery?

If I had a dollar for every time I was asked this, I would be rich. Actually I wouldn’t be rich, because the answer is disappointing. “It depends” usually is the answer. Or “ we can’t say” To which the riposte comes “But surely someone knows” and we shake our heads, sadly and say. It’s […]

Bottom of the stairs

I have been long fascinated with the London Underground. To say that I’m obsessed is a bit of an understatement. It surprised me that until recently, I didn’t know about the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster during World War two. I came upon it initially through the film Atonement, where Cecilia Tallis played by Keira Knightley […]

RU OK? Me, I’m not*

Today is RU OK? Day, a great initiative formed to get people to check in on each other. Me? I’m not OK. Haven’t been for about 18months or so, but I am now recognising it, calling it out and doing something about it. The work that we do, goes without saying, is stressful. “You work […]

Come in Houston?

Again we are watching a disaster unfold in the gulf country, with Hurricane Harvey dumping masses of water onto Houston. The city is inundated, and once again we see people forced to rooftops as the water rose, and scenes of tragedy as people and animals were left behind. IT will be interesting to see how […]

Connecting

It’s not often you get to enjoy the company of one of the world’s great minds in the area of Post Traumatic Stress. Yesterday I, and many of my colleagues, were able to revel in 3hours of post traumatic stress heaven (if there is such a thing), with Dr Patricia Watson, one of the gurus […]

Sunflowers

This is a fascinating piece of writing on the aftermath of MH17by one of Australia’s best journalists, Paul McGeough. In amongst the horror of the crash, McGeough and his photographer colleague Kate Geraghty collect sunflower seeds from the crash site of MH17 and arrange to give them to family members who lot loved ones in […]

Der Himmel Über Recovery

The good folks across the ditch at New Zealand Red Cross (Elizabeth, Jolie, Holly) have released a guide to recovery called Leading in Recovery: A companion in chaos. This is a great little piece. And that is its beauty. It’s slight, not dense, not theory driven, not lofty, there to be a companion. Working in […]

Red Beans and Rice

Red Beans and Rice Tonight I’m cooking Red Beans and Rice. It’s a specialty of New Orleans. Usually cooked on a Monday, washing day, and put on in the morning and cooked real slow. I learnt this from NPR, America’s great public broadcaster, when I was in Washington, in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. […]