Building Inclusive Disaster Resilient Communities (BIDRC)
Building Inclusive Disaster Resilient Communities (BIDRC) is a project in partnership between Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN), the Centre for Disability Research and Policy at the University of Sydney, Community Services Industry Alliance (CSIA), and communities in five Local Government Areas across Queensland - Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Livingstone, Scenic Rim, and Southern Downs.
BIDRC is grounded in Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DIDRR). Research shows that people with disability are more vulnerable to hazard events and are up to four times more likely to die during disasters than others. DIDRR means making sure that people with disability have the same opportunity to access emergency preparedness information, to participate in emergency preparedness programs in their community and to be included as a valuable stakeholder in local community emergency planning processes.
About the BIDRC project
BIDRC is a community-led initiative. Our role is to bring together and support key stakeholders - people with disability, local Council, emergency services, disability service providers, and other local community leaders to co-design and co-lead local strategies and initiatives to increase community resilience to disaster, within the framework of DIDRR.
QDN and project partners are working with communities in five local government areas across Queensland to improve community resilience to disasters. These areas include; Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Livingstone, Scenic Rim, and Southern Downs.
Using a strengths-based, community-centred approach to Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction we will:
- Over two years, hold three disability inclusive emergency planning forums in five Local Government Areas, using creative and engaging processes. These forums will support the co-design of community-led pilot strategies and projects to increase community resilience to disasters and emergencies to take ideas to action.
- Deliver business continuity planning workshops for services providers.
- Provide research and evaluation feedback that will contribute to inclusive emergency planning at the local level.
Expected outcomes
We understand that each community is individual and faces unique challenges and disaster risks. We also recognise that communities know what is needed and are best placed to generate ideas and solutions that are tailored and responsive to their local context.
The expected outcomes of the BIDRC project are to:
- Increase capacity in the disability, community, and emergency services sector to work together to increase the resilience of the local community, including people with disability, their family, and carers in a disaster.
- Develop effective mechanisms for enabling community-level DIDRR.
- Reduce risk for people with disability in disasters by ensuring they are included in local disaster risk reduction.
Resources
This project is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.
“I’m excited about taking what I’ve had the privilege of learning about emergency preparedness and sharing it with our local Ipswich community. We’re raising up emerging leaders. One of the things we need to do is look for emerging leaders in inclusive disaster risk reduction.” Peer Leader
