Those who salve souls when disasters strike

Among the devastation of the NSW floods have been heartwarming stories of everyday people – the tradies, the home cooks and many more — who are taking time out from paid work to help on site.

Behind the scenes at every disaster are another group of unpaid workers: the volunteer chaplains from the Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network. This group of 360 chaplains from different denominations and faith groups across NSW and the ACT are deployed to help the vulnerable in times of disaster.

Coordinated by the Uniting Church, the network sent 19 chaplains into 11 evacuation centres at one point during recent flood events. All members are trained to work in disaster situations, a task that involves integrating smoothly with government or non-government services.

According to Uniting Church moderator Reverend Simon Hansford, it’s a critical service. “Disasters and the recovery response can be intimidating, bureaucratic and dehumanising. A shoulder to cry on, someone to talk to, to share their burden often has a powerful effect,” he says.

Hansford says the volunteer chaplains have frequently been affected firsthand.

“They have lost their homes or their families have, but they still work as part of the network to help,” Hansford says. “Often chaplains of different cultures and different faiths can reach people that government services and charities cannot.”

Volunteering for the Rural Fire Service first piqued Rev Dr Stephen Robinson’s interest in disaster and crisis support roles.

Robinson was so struck by the heavy burden that religious leaders took on when supporting their community after a disaster that, 20 years ago, he undertook a doctoral dissertation on the topic.