The Toolbox is a resource - a collection of information ‘tools’ to help communities to work together to rebuild their lives after a traumatic event or emergency. It is:

• a ‘GPS’ for community leaders to build resilience in the wake of suffering and hardship caused by natural disasters such as bush fires and drought.
• a vehicle for community engagement to increase capacity and wellbeing.

For a Power Point presentation explaining the "Staying Strong" Toolbox click here.

This toolbox contains information and practical examples to help your community identify and respond in a positive way, to hardship caused by negative experiences (such as long term drought or bushfires) – experiences that cripple economies, personal relationships and family businesses. In essence, the toolbox provides ‘tools’ to ensure community ‘bounce back’.

‘Staying Strong’ is a proactive example of how one rural community developed a successful and positive response to trauma created by ongoing drought and bush fires. It was initiated and administered through the *Eyre Peninsula Community Alliance (EPCA)1 on *Eyre Peninsula, South Australia2. The project comprised a series of positive, informative and recreational events convened for farming and business communities across Eyre Peninsula. These were implemented in response to a growing need for support by farming families (and business groups) in the region. The project’s time frame was six (6) months.

The events served several purposes. For instance, apart from the opportunity for people in difficult circumstances to get together and share their concerns with community leaders, Staying Strong events provided:

• a mechanism for communities in a stressed situation to take ownership of their issues and be part of a solution. For example, following Staying Strong events, participants were encouraged to take the available resources to neighbours who were not able (or motivated) to attend.
• encouragement for participants to register for Follow-up Sessions, which focused on building resilience, both personal and community
• a situation which enabled a ‘widening out’ of the usual community segments. Eg some members of a community may attend the football club and others not – this will limit opportunities to share information however Staying Strong Events targeted all segments to come together for one event
• industry with a chance to speak to local communities about future employment opportunities and community development plans. One company reported that, until Staying Strong, they had not been able to access local communities, but could only hold discussions at state government level.

1 – ‘What is Eyre Peninsula Community Alliance’ and ‘EPCA Annual Report 2006'
2 – Map of Eyre Peninsula