The day before fires threatened the Victorian coastal town of Mallacoota during the summer of 2019-20, Rosemary Hannah drove into town.
She was heading for the local Catholic church, which she had decided to evacuate to as the bushfire approached.
She had been living in a bungalow on another person’s property, but police had warned her not to go back there, leaving her homeless on the eve of the devastating bushfires.
After the fires, she said her plight initially went unheard because she had not lost her own house in the disaster.
A board member of the local health service, Mallacoota District Health and Support Service (MDHSS), eventually heard about Ms Hannah’s situation and arranged relief accommodation for her.
“It was a relief because I had nowhere to go,” the now-68-year-old said.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen.
“I didn’t want to leave Mallacoota. There was no way I ever wanted to leave Mallacoota.”
But the accommodation, while comfortable, was only temporary.
Health service steps up
MDHSS chief executive Anne Mwagiru remembers the shock and grief that engulfed the town after the disaster.
She also recalls the number of residents who approached MDHSS for help, many of them dropping in for meals and comfort before slipping away again.
“We’d give them breakfast and they would go back somewhere, but it wasn’t to a home,” she said.
Ms Mwagiru soon realised many of those residents were unable to advocate for a home rebuild due to their health problems.
Many had chronic health conditions, some were in palliative care and some used wheelchairs.
Others had mental health issues or were elderly and some were family violence survivors.
Seeing the gap in the recovery efforts, MDHSS supported the residents and began searching for accessible local homes.
Refurbishing cottages, building new homes
MDHSS approached the federal government for funding, receiving just over $2 million.
It was initially used to refurbish some cottages that the health district had bought from a local holiday accommodation provider.
But as it became clear more homes were needed, the organisation used the government funds and some of its own money to buy a vacant block of land where it built accessible accommodation for its clients.Black Summer bushfires scars remain
Photo shows Ken and Juliet Eckersley standing in their vineyard.
More than four years after the Black Summer bushfires incinerated millions of hectares on the east coast, traces of the event have faded but remain stark in people’s memories.
High prices and supply shortages that have characterised construction since the COVID-19 pandemic affected the project.
Coupled with the town’s remoteness, the team said it was a big effort and “logistical nightmare” to get it off the ground.
Ms Mwagiru said it was a long time for people to be without a home, especially because they were still dealing with the trauma of the fires.
“Knowing that the rest of the world has moved on, but we still have to deal with the aftermath of that bushfire,” she said.
“A lot of people will tell you, ‘It’s five years later’. Yes, it is, but we still haven’t rebuilt.”
The bushfires cut off the only road into Mallacoota, forcing residents and holiday-makers to take shelter on the town’s foreshore.
The disaster destroyed 120 homes and was followed soon after by the pandemic.
Nevertheless, the health service pressed on to find Mallacoota residents like Rosemary Hannah a home locally.
A community celebrates
The service opened eight new properties on a private block of land in late October last year.
They have been purpose-built to an NDIS standard and can accommodate people with or without disabilities.
Each unit has a pergola to encourage social connections and the rent is subsidised according to an individual’s needs.
Potential residents are consulted and the health service considers their needs and age before allocating a unit.
Ms Hannah moved into her new home just before Christmas.
Now with a place to call her own, she said she was looking forward to spending time writing poetry and enjoying her new community.
“I’ve always wanted to live a quiet, simple, humble life,” she said.
“[Now] I breathe a sigh of relief … I see it as a time of rest for myself.”
Previously, vulnerable patients without secure housing had been sent out of town, into New South Wales or as far away as Melbourne.
Patients in this situation struggled away from the familiarity of home.
“It’s hard to witness,” Ms Mwagiru said.
“It’s hard to put somebody on the bus all the way to Melbourne because these people are very vulnerable.”
Homelessness and health
Federation University professor of social work and community services, Jennifer Martin, said homelessness could lead to mental and physical health problems or exacerbate existing ones.
“You’ve got multiple stressors, and … they all sort of cascade,” Professor Martin said.
She said studies showed that vulnerable populations wanted to remain close to their families and support networks, rather than being isolated in housing further away.
“It’s difficult to re-establish yourself when you have been traumatised,” she said.
“We’ve got to see that accommodation is more than just a room over your head, it’s all the other support factors that go alongside that.”
The local health service now hopes to apply for more funding to build much-needed accommodation for health workers in the area.
