“Community recovery” is an emerging interdisciplinary field drawing on theory and practice from a broad range of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, economics, political science, law, planning, engineering, ecology, and health… An aspect of community development, it includes the study of conditions that either catalyze or block the healthy development of the social, as well as physical, infrastructure needed for communities to thrive, prosper, and determine their own futures in the wake of a crisis….. Community recovery” is much more than simply returning to the status quo before a disaster. It includes but goes beyond resilience: the ability of a person or a place to bounce back from a traumatic blow.” (Allen & Tucker, 2012, p 91).
Community recovery workers are invested. They need to be able to talk to each other about the work they are navigating, in spaces that are both brave, safe and regular. They need their community of fellow workers. We lose community workers who have worked in recovery. People burnout or they leave shattered & not belonging to their community because they were employed as a community recovery worker and had to make decisions that were contentious. Both government and non-government workers can be seen and treated poorly by stressed and traumatized people in communities, and by other workers under stress. Those who work at the coalface with communities after a disaster deserve our admiration, love, respect and support during their tireless work. This video shows the impact of bringing Courage & Renewal into a team of community recovery workers for three consecutive years after a disaster. Curating and holding spaces to reflect on practice together enabled connection with personal practice frameworks, building and strengthening team for this work, practicing skills and capabilities to do the work and sense making together drawing on some solid frameworks.
Investing in restorative reflective practices like the Courage & Renewal approach will help to sustain our workforce.
