MORE than 20 local organisations have teamed up to boost disaster resilience for Logan’s multicultural community, who those at the coalface say are forgotten by current support systems.
The alliance, named the Logan Multicultural Collaborative, held its first event last week at Gould Adams Community Centre in Kingston to help educate and prepare the city’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities about climate adaptation.
Those leading the alliance, including Logan’s Settlement Services International (SSI), said repeated floods and storms exposed a major gap in disaster response: multicultural communities often missed out on “vital” government information and services because of how it was delivered.
At their first meeting, joined by about 220 locals, the alliance called on the Australian government to create policy solutions to solve those problems.
“It’s imperative that the federal government develops a comprehensive strategy to ensure that all communities, regardless of their language or country of origin, receive equitable access to support and information,” Settlement Services International’s (SSI) community relations manager Sahba Hamid said.
She said Logan was the “right place” to launch a broader push for multicultural support.
“Logan is where many of these families live, where they feel comfortable, and where the services already know them.”
Ms Hamid said language barriers often put these communities at a disadvantage.
“When Cyclone Alfred happened, funding and support were opened quickly – but many multicultural communities didn’t know.
“By the time they applied, it was already closed.”
She said the issue wasn’t capability, but access.
“People are incredibly resilient, but they come from different systems and different languages.
“Weather alerts may not make sense, or even knowing where to get sandbags or who the emergency responders are.
“They just need that extra hand holding.”
She said some groups face added trauma triggers.
“Police involvement can be very triggering for communities who come from countries where police have persecuted them.
“That’s why QPS is at this event – to build trust before a disaster hits.”
The event was supported by about 60 other organisations across south-east Queensland.
The alliance has also taken disaster response into their own hands, teaching local services how to make information more accessible.
This includes what languages and cultural supports are needed, and where events should be held.
Ms Hamid said getting community leaders on board was crucial, since they were trusted.
During Cyclone Alfred, SSI worked with community leaders and translated resources that were delivered across multiple platforms.
At the time, SSI said community feedback indicated was a need for “curated, simplified” information to make it easier for migrant and refugee communities to understand.
Two forums were organised to prepare local multicultural communities for the cyclone, providing access to post-cyclone recovery assistance and support to prepare for future weather events.
After the cyclone, SSI case workers helped impacted clients with insurance applications, hardship payments and disaster grant applications, as well as emergency relief referrals and recovery support.
