Northern Rivers Community Resilience Alliance

Recently, over 60 individuals from grassroots community groups across the Northern Rivers NSW have started gathering monthly to create the Northern Rivers Community Resilience Alliance.

It has been a truly moving experience to be in the same room, sharing deep conversations, honouring the highs and lows we've all faced and beginning to envision a collective path forward. This is community in action, coming together to strengthen our resilience and solidarity.

So far, we have brainstormed and discussed, in plenary sessions and in small groups, the need to establish a strong, self-sustaining community network designed to effectively manage emergencies and disruptions. We agreed that, as an alliance we would like to delve further on the following topics: 

• Growing the alliance: We discussed defining the alliance’s membership, its mission, and its operational structure to ensure a focused and effective approach. 

• Advocacy: Efforts were concentrated on mapping existing advocacy efforts, creating collaborative advocacy plans, and enhancing advocacy skills among members to influence broader systemic changes. 

• Training and Resource Sharing: The group emphasised the need for a platform for knowledge sharing and skill development, aiming to empower communities through shared resources and training opportunities. 

• Peer Support and Self-Care: The importance of a regional peer support network was highlighted, focusing on promoting collective well-being and sustaining community groups during challenging times. 

• Funding: Strategies were discussed for identifying funding opportunities, sharing resources for grant writing, and collaborating to secure larger funding amounts to support community initiatives. On this front, we collectively applied for a grant from Healthy North Coast, kindly auspiced by Resilient Lismore, which, if we get it, will help us continue to embark on a collective path forward, recognising the challenges of the 'climate frontier' and how we can support each other.

Stay tuned for more updates!