Reclaiming The Beach
Through the support of Movember, we took our surf therapy program to Mallacoota to help support post-trauma growth following the 2019-2020 bushfires…
By: Alex Harmon, images by Lachlan Keevill
When the Mallacoota Boardriders reached out, a small team from Waves of Wellness (WOW) packed up the van (loaded with over 70 surfboards) and hit the road, grateful to help the fire-ravaged town in any way they could.
The journey was not without its bumps, there were road closures, fallen trees, burnt out road signs and as the team crept into the small town on the Victorian border, the devastation was palpable.
What shocked the team (comprised of mental health clinicians doubling as learn-to-surf facilitators, a clinical psychologist, a clinical psychotherapist, a videographer and 3 Movember Foundation volunteers ) was the sheer destruction to the landscape of the town. The extent of the fire damage was larger than anyone expected. It had been over a month, yet the billows of smoke lurking over the sand dunes were a constant reminder of the disaster endured.
The Mallacoota Bushfires
On New Year's Eve 2019, thousands of people from the East Gippsland region were surrounded by fire and told to head towards the beach. At least 123 Mallacoota homes were destroyed. Many were left with nothing but the terrifying memories, not knowing if they would survive through the night.
Vanessa Janns, President of Mallacoota Boardriders Club, reached out to WOW in the hope that they could create a customised program for the Mallacoota community, and help lessen the impact on the spirit of the townspeople.
The program was put together to support the residents in reclaiming their beach, reframing its recent correlation with trauma, to a place of positivity and leisure. WOW wanted to support the locals to get back into the water and associate joy with the beach. They wanted to shift the focus from the apocalyptic red sky that had been projected to the rest of the world.
Using The Beach As Therapy
WOW arrived into town at the same time as some of the evacuated locals returned to face the destruction. Reuniting on the beach was incredibly poignant. The town's history is deeply imbedded in the coastline and WOW used this landscape to reconnect and solidify as a town and community. The program allowed locals to meet under the guise of surfing, to connect in a meaningful place, to be supported and to have therapeutic conversations about what they have been through.
Doing It For The Kids
While the adults were grieving, it was the children who were dealing with a whole new level of confusion and pain. They had not only lost homes, but they had lost their sense of safety and continuity. They had also lost their summer.
Summer holidays by the beach are supposed to be filled with joy. But for these kids their last memories were of intense fear.
Throughout the program, which included beach games, BBQs and school visits, parents would tell WOW that this was the first time they had felt relief from the trauma, despair, exhaustion and practicalities of the fire. They smiled when they heard their children laugh, or when they stood up on a board for the first time, or buried one of the facilitators in the sand.
“The most memorable thing I have heard a parent say is that this is the first time they have seen their kids laugh and smile in about a month,” said Amanda Robb, a clinical psychotherapist who specialises in trauma and PTSD.
As The Smoke Settles
What struck the WOW team was how the community came together to support each other, showing significant strength and resilience. Naturally there was an undercurrent of apprehension about what life will look like ‘when the smoke clears’.
Like most remote communities, specialist resources like psychology and psychiatry are scarce. Comprehensive public mental health services are hundreds of kilometres away, and ongoing treatment for effects of disaster (PTSD, adjustment disorder, depression and anxiety) is challenging.
WOW brings people together to share conversations in a way that a mental health support team in an office isn’t always able to do. It goes to the community rather than the community having to go to them. This means they are able to reach members of the community that are much less likely to seek help, such as men and teenagers. By connecting through surfing, the lines of communication often feel more free-flowing, rather than stuffy.
"What are we going to do when you leave,” asks one participant at the end of the 5-day program. “Who is going to ask the uncomfortable questions about things we need to talk about?"
WOW hopes that the surf therapy program will be able to continue and gain momentum through the ongoing support and training of locals.
Waves of Wellness would like to say a massive thank you to:
● Movember Foundation who funded the Mallacoota program in its entirety
● Bronte Boardriders for donating surfboards received through their bushfire fundraiser
● Soflite Surf, Sanbah Newcastle, and Steele Lewis Designs for their generous donations
● Projence Newcastle for their donations and logistical support
To support WOW in continuing these programs in bushfire affected communities, you can donate via www.foundationwow.org
During their time in Mallacoota, the WOW team and Movember volunteers stayed in local accommodation, supporting the @emptyesky campaign to help the community’s tourism economy get back on track. To support small businesses in Mallacoota (before your next holiday), you can purchase an esky of local products direct from mymallacootaesky.com.