When major emergencies occur in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Central Coast, Hunter and Mid North Coast regions, chances are one of the faces assisting in the aftermath belongs to a member of the Samaritans Disaster Recovery team.
As the social welfare arm of Newcastle Anglican, Samaritans works with government and non-government agencies to provide an effective and coordinated response to those impacted by emergency situations including bushfires, floods and storms.
On Saturday 8th March, volunteers from the Samaritans Disaster Recovery team will be on hand to showcase their work at the annual Singleton Emergency Services Expo.
The event will be held at Civic Park Singleton from 9am to 12 noon.
Volunteers will be available to answer questions in relation to the group’s activities and how to volunteer.
Hosted by Singleton Council, in collaboration with state-wide and local Emergency Services and organisations, the event is set to be educational and fun, with free activities on offer for all ages.
Demonstrations and activities on offer throughout the morning will include:
- A PolAir helicopter landing
- Multi-agency demonstration by Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Ambulance, NSW State Emergency Service, NSW Police and Ausgrid
- A RFS cadets firefighting demonstration
- NSW Police mounted unit
- An Emergency Services mascot race
- Recovery agencies display
- Mental health first aid info
- Emergency vehicles display
- Food trucks.
“We’ll have a stand manned by the Disaster Recovery volunteers and we will be answering any questions in relation to what we do, where we go, and how to volunteer,” Team Leader Disaster Recovery – Hunter Valley Peter Woolven says.
“We are always keen for new team members to join our disaster recovery teams, so if you would like to find out more, please come and see us.”