people provided with
an emergency cash grant

distributed in the initial
emergency grants

donated by our generous
supporters in the flood appeal

The Vinnies NSW flood appeal raised more than $3.8 million in the 2021/22 financial year in support of people affected by the Northern Rivers floods.

$3.278 million of that sum was delivered early on to more than 6,000 people hardest hit in the form of emergency cash grants to help get them back on their feet.

We were able to do this with the support of donations from the public as well as generous corporate donors like IGA and News Corp.

Of the people who received these grants, more than 1200 had their homes damaged, with more than 400 additional recipients reporting their homes were destroyed.

This is, unfortunately, not surprising as more homes were rendered uninhabitable by the Northern Rivers floods than by the black summer bushfires.

Because Lismore is built on a floodplain, insurance is out of reach for many locals.

This is reflected in that nearly three quarters of people (74%) who were provided with financial assistance did not have insurance.

A fifth of people we helped were partially insured.

Since the early response, the St Vincent de Paul Society has been providing ongoing support by supplying material goods, including food and water, to people in need.

A Vinnies Van service has been set up and it has been working to reach areas that were impossible to get to in the immediate wake of the floods.

It has been providing people with everyday essentials and snack packs since shortly after the floodwaters receded.

The Society has also been distributing generators, tents, sleeping bags, towels, and fuel cards donated by generous corporate partners including Amazon, Ezy Charge, Work Wear, and BP.

The local members have been busy supplying people with things they need not just to replace what was lost in the floods but to help them keep warm in winter.

To that end, they have been buying things like carpet, heaters, and blankets to provide to people who lost everything in the floods.

They have been diligently working with the people they assist to find out what items are most needed and sourcing them.

One of the things people worst affected by the floods have needed most is fuel.

There has been significant effort put in to make sure the Society’s response is one based on individual needs.

Looking back on recent disaster responses by the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW, Clare Van Doorn, Regional Director for the North East, says the new model that has been adopted in the Northern Rivers is working well.

“The difference with the floods has been that flexibility that we can really support what is happening in that area for the people affected.

“We have really taken on board and learnt from the experience of previous disasters to ask what it is you need.

“That to me is the priceless thing we’ve had,” she says.

Renata is one of the many people Vinnies has been able to assist with the funds raised through the Vinnies NSW Flood Appeal.

As Renata stands in the remains of her flood-damaged home, a thought at the top of mind for many Lismore residents comes out.

“I don’t even know where to start.”

Left to deal with the fallout of the worst flood to hit the northern NSW community, Renata looks on at the sight of irreparable items and valuables, belonging to her and her teenage son. They are piled up outside her ruined home alongside similar piles up and down the side of the road.

“It’s devastating – it’s all just rubbish now, all just landfill – there’s nothing.

“That’s our beautiful home, where you feel safe and secure, where you shut out the outside world, you’ve got a safe place and your special things, where you can be who you really are without the social façade.

“Now, none of us have that; we’re all sitting in our cars because that’s the only place that is really ours – if you’re lucky enough that you’ve got a car.

“How long is it going to take? What’s it going to take?“

While the road ahead is long and uncertain for Renata and countless others like her, the support offered by Vinnies and other organisations at recovery centres located throughout the region is providing solace in a time of need.

“Every cent that comes in, whether it’s a meal voucher, whether it’s substantial, is just so helpful and so welcome at the moment for the whole community.”

“A little bit of money makes a huge amount of difference to people like us, every cent to rebuild and start again and pick ourselves up – it’s enormous.”

For as heartbreaking as Renata’s situation is to hear, she remains determined to persevere in the community she calls home.

“We have to keep going, it’s important to save our homes and dry them out so that we can rebuild and provide some future for our children and for ourselves.

“And for the whole town – if we’re strong then we can go and help those who have a bigger job in front.

“This is our home – where am I going to walk away to?”