Rebuilding beyond the physical: The human side of disaster recovery

In the weeks after a natural disaster, the things people miss most are often the everyday routines they once took for granted: clean clothes, a hot shower and a chance to sit down with someone who understands what they’re going through.

It’s easy to underestimate just how much a clean load of laundry or a warm shower can support someone’s recovery. Yet, restoring a sense of dignity after a disaster is often where healing begins.

It is a realisation that lies at the heart of a new partnership between Allianz Australia and charity Orange Sky, which has become the principal partner in the Allianz Community Care program. Launched earlier this year, the program is “designed to help communities build mental resilience, strengthen social ties and navigate the long-term impacts of disaster”, explains Allianz general manager of sustainability Susan Mizrahi.

For the insurer, which works with customers through the aftermath of disasters every year, the partnership reflects a growing recognition that rebuilding a home is only one part of getting life back on track. Communities also need practical assistance, human connection and confidence in the future.

A simple idea with national impact

When 20-year-old best mates Lucas Patchett and Nic Marchesi converted a van in a Brisbane garage in 2014 – kitting it out with washing machines and dryers to provide laundry facilities for people experiencing homelessness – they had no idea where their idea would lead.

Today, Orange Sky operates over 450 services weekly of free shower and laundry services nationwide for people doing it tough, including for communities recovering from natural disasters. Since Orange Sky attended its first disaster, Tropical Cyclone Marcia in Central Queensland in 2015, the charity says it has helped people affected by floods, bushfires, severe thunderstorms and cyclones do about 20,000 loads of laundry.

“Just as importantly, our services create space for conversation,” says Patchett. “We often hear that while people come for the laundry or shower, it’s the chance to sit down, have a chat and feel supported that leaves the biggest impact. That’s why we believe practical support and human connection go hand in hand when communities are getting back on their feet.”

Understanding what communities need most

That experience is reflected in new research commissioned by Allianz¹, which found almost nine in 10 Australians personally impacted by a natural disaster considered access to free services important in the aftermath.

When asked to identify their top three post-disaster needs if their home was no longer habitable, the findings highlight the importance of services that restore everyday routines and dignity, with access to shower facilities (63 per cent) and free laundry services (51 per cent) identified among the most important post-disaster needs².

The survey also identified an almost unanimous belief that businesses should play a role in disaster recovery, with 94 per cent of respondents citing its importance³.

“We’ve learned that no single organisation can meet every need after a disaster,” says Mizrahi. “The strongest outcomes come when businesses, community organisations and local communities work together, each contributing distinct expertise and resources.”

Strengthening support on the ground

Through a three-year partnership, the Allianz Community Care program will contribute to Orange Sky’s operating costs, while the two organisations bring complementary capabilities to disaster sites. By sharing resources, the aim is to increase their impact on the ground. Allianz has visibility of how disasters affect communities across the country, while Orange Sky has trusted relationships on the ground and years of frontline experience helping people through difficult periods in their life.

Orange Sky joins existing Community Care partners Rural Aid, which helps regional communities through the immediate and long-term impacts of disaster, and Outside the Locker Room (OTLR), a charity that provides mental-health education for sporting clubs, businesses and communities.

For Patchett, it’s been quite a journey since Orange Sky began life in the back of a van 12 years ago, and he’s thrilled that this new partnership will help the charity reach even more people.

“What excites us most is the opportunity to expand our impact,” he says. “Every day we see how something as simple as access to a shower, clean clothes or a conversation can have in making a real difference in someone’s life.”

For all the discussion about rebuilding after disaster, the needs people talk about most are often surprisingly ordinary: a shower, clean clothes, a place to sit, someone to talk to. They’re small things. Yet for many Australians navigating the aftermath of disaster, they can make an enormous difference.

For further details on the Allianz Community Care Program, visit allianz.com.au.

¹The study surveyed 1006 Australians who have personally been impacted by a natural disaster.

²Surveyed Australians impacted by natural disasters said access to free shower facilities (63 per cent), access to safe, welcoming spaces for connection and supportive conversations (56 per cent) and free clothes-washing and drying facilities (51 per cent) would be most important for them to access if their house or home was no longer habitable (when asked to select their top three).

³94 per cent of surveyed Australians who have been impacted by a natural disaster believe it’s important for businesses to contribute to disaster recovery efforts in the communities where they operate.