Bushfire support services and the need for evaluation: the 2013 Blue Mountains experience

In 2013, the Blue Mountains region of NSW experienced devastating bushfires. In response, the Step By Step Blue Mountains Bushfire Support Service was established by the Ministry of Police and Emergency Services and a local Blue Mountains service, Gateway Family Support. The service was to support bushfire-affected community members through a strengthsbased and solution-focused approach. This approach has been used in other support services but limited evidence exists on the effectiveness of its use in disaster recovery. The integration of research in the early stages of disaster recovery service design may prove a valuable way to support the work of governments and service delivery organisations and is an important aspect of disaster preparedness and community wellbeing. This paper highlights the vulnerability of the Blue Mountains region to bushfire and examines the 2013 response by the Ministry for Police and Emergency Services Disaster Welfare Service (DWS) in association with Gateway Family Services. The DWS and Gateway Family Services collaborated to implement the service. This paper concludes that support services should be flexible in their response to dealing with those recovering from traumatic experiences such as bushfires. It demonstrates that evaluation of existing disaster support programs could better inform future disaster responses and services to assist communities to better cope and rebuild their lives.