Two Rooms Lismore floods: Community project keeps young families warm and dry
A grassroots charity has brought some hope to Lismore resident Courtney O’Brien after her home was inundated during the devastating floods in February.
Lismore
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An innovative program is helping Northern NSW’s worst flood-hit residents keep warm as the rebuild of hundreds of homes continues.
Many flood-impacted homeowners in Lismore have removed their internal wall panelling due to black mould, leaving large gaps that expose them to the winter chill.
With families forced to live in their homes without anything to protect them from the cold, Two Rooms was started to provide insulation with donated gyprock.
Courtney O’Brien, a single mother-of-three, said recovering from the flood was difficult.
The Lismore resident said the family was going to bed around 7pm each night simply to get and stay warm.
“I have twins that are five and a son that is seven,” Ms O’Brien said.
“The kids are so resilient – I think they are doing OK but it’s a bigger deal for me in being able to provide a home, essentially.
“We had a lovely home.”
With 2.5 metres of floodwater entering her house, Ms O’Brien said the destruction was devastating.
Ms O’Brien, who is uninsured, is now living back in her flood-damaged house, telling the Northern Star she has been working tirelessly to provide for her children.
“I don’t get a lot of time to catch up on what’s available and what we have,” she said.
“My sister put my name down for Two Rooms and yeah … here we are today.”
When the floods hit Northern Rivers earlier this year, News Corporation Australia announced a $1 million commitment to hard hit communities.
Our News In The Community program has been working with St Vincent de Paul and other charity groups on the ground to allocate the funds.
As part of that commitment, News Corp has donated a total of $200,000 to nine flood relief community initiatives and one flood-affected individual in the worst-hit regions – of which $20,000 went to Two Rooms.
With a mortgage and family to think of, Ms O’Brien thanked News Corp for its donation.
“With Two Rooms, I got my sons’ room and my daughter’s room insulated.
“Without the support of donations a lot of people would just have to go without,” she said.
The money will be put towards securing gyprock and associated building materials to help the Two Rooms project insulate more homes.
The Two Rooms project is one of many community-led initiatives run from Resilient Lismore, which formed after the 2017 floods.
Team leader Naomi Shine said the Two Rooms project is to help residents who are uninsured.
“We have a materials fund where businesses like the women’s refuge and local businesses have donated money for us to buy in gyprock,” she said.
“We have handy people volunteering to put walls up.
“We’re trying to help people in their rebuild process.
“Because rebuilding can be tricky we’re also getting electricians in and liaising with them before any walls do go up and block access for wiring that needs replacing.”
Those needing assistance can reach out via Flood Help Northern Rivers.
Download a copy of the R U OK? Mateship Manual to find out how you can help someone doing it tough after natural disaster.
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