[Kate_F]

<p>During the February Get-Together, a conversation around disaster commemorations and memorial emerged. It would be helpful if we could continue a dialogue here around what some communities have experienced from lived expeirence, along with local council and emergency services contributions.</p>

[sumarlinah]

Thanks Kate!
In light of the 15th anniversary of the Black Saturday fires in Victoria, I wanted to share what Nillumbik Shire Council does in terms of commemoration.

First and foremost, we are led by the affected communities. There is a memorial site in Strathewen, and the local community has a gathering on every anniversary. The Council doesn’t attend, but it does acknowledge significant anniversaries on our website, newsletter and socials.

The post Council made yesterday acknowledging the fires is here: https://www.nillumbik.vic.gov.au/Council/News-and-publications/Latest-news/A-time-to-reflect-the-2009-Victorian-bushfires

[kate.admin]

Here’s some more resources that may be helpful around anniversaries/commemorations;

Australia Child and Adolescent Trauma, Loss and Grief Network
Understanding and managing anniversary reactions – Tips for families affected by bushfires
“Anniversaries are times of remembering, reflecting and review. When the anniversary marks something sad, distressing, terrifying or tragic it might bring about the same or similar reactions to those originally experienced. For some, the remembering will renew feelings and worries that something similar might happen again. For others, the anniversary might bring new challenges, such as thinking about the events and wondering about the future”. https://earlytraumagrief.anu.edu.au/files/0912010_b%20Tips%20for%20familiesV22%281%29.pdf

Australian Red Cross – Preparing for disaster anniversaries
“Anniversaries of disasters fulfil both social and psychological functions, marking the passage of time and providing an opportunity to pause, reflect, celebrate or mourn. Around anniversaries, people may compare their situation or feel the weight of the expectation of others. People may also have
their own expectations of how ‘recovered’ they should be and feel frustrated about their situation. Anniversaries are a time of both personal and collective
remembrance that can be marked by formal and informal memorial events or services”.
https://www.redcross.org.au/globalassets/cms/emergency-services/recovery-resources/disaster-anniversaries-individuals.pdf

Trauma and Grief Network – Understanding and managing anniversary reactions: Tips for families affected by natural disasters
“As the anniversary of ta natural disaster such as a flood, earthquake or bushfire. approaches there is often increased media coverage, increased discussion in the community and schools about the event and the potential risk of future events. This may be helpful, but, as is often the case, children are vulnerable to over-exposure to such discussion and media coverage. Rarely do they have control of the nature, timing, degree and content of this exposure”
https://earlytraumagrief.anu.edu.au/files/Understanding-and-managing-anniversary-reactions-natural-disasters.pdf

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