Cups of tea in community halls, barbecues, art shows, sport and film nights are all ways communities are healing two years after the black summer bushfires.
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It may seem like small steps towards recovery, but the Red Cross says these events are important acts of social cohesion to strengthen a community's resilience for future disasters.
The Red Cross was this week granted $7.25 million under the federal government's black summer bushfire recovery grant program, allowing the organisation to expand its community work to 17 new regions in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and SA.
Red Cross national recovery lead Shona Whitton says the extra funding will help bushfire victims re-build both physically and mentally.
One part of that work is supporting communities in their own initiatives, like barbecues, sport and cultural events.
"We know communities that come together after disasters and support one another do better in the long-term, and they're more resilient to future shocks," Ms Whitton said.
"These are vital things in communities, they build social cohesion, they help people normalise their experiences.They come together and talk to each other about what they're doing, and they support each other.
"So much of what happens in communities after disasters is a collective experience, so recovery needs to be collective as well."
The government's black summer grant program acknowledges the importance of community-led healing, with kids' bushcraft workshops, theatre productions and writers festivals also receiving funding.
The Red Cross has supported nearly 68,000 people in bushfire-affected communities since September 2019, giving victims financial aid to rebuild or repair their properties, find new accommodation, and receive medical help.
Ms Whitton says two years is very early in the recovery process for many victims, who may take years to put their lives back together.
"Some communities are so badly impacted, they really struggle to ever recover, so it's not surprising to me where we're at right now, two years later.
"Recovery always takes longer than people think and it's something we talk a lot about with communities in the early days. Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint."
Australian Associated Press
