After 7 months, there are still members of our community living without adequate plumbing, water services or power. Resilient Lismore has again, seen the need and taken action, to come to the community's aid, to fix it.

Tradespeople and building and plumbing supplies have been challenging to get for people in the region who have been attempting to rebuild their homes and businesses, with so much of our community wiped out, we are still seeing less than half of our homes inhabited, and people living in conditions which are often sub-standard.

If they have chosen to go home to live while they rebuild and many have, they are waiting to discover what will happen, once the land swaps, house buyback options are offered through the NRRC.

Community recovery organisation, Resilient Lismore wants to hear from people who are living in their flood-affected homes without a basic bathroom or plumbing services. 

Starting in late October, Resilient Lismore is partnering with the Reece Foundation on a project to restore access to essential plumbing services to flood-affected owner-occupiers, so their homes become habitable and healthy again.

Together, they have co-designed the project to ensure they can deliver the restoration of essential plumbing services for up to 50 households across the Northern Rivers.

Reece Foundation will connect their trade community with opportunities to use their sought-after skills for good. They are recruiting for volunteer tradies and donating Reece supplies. Resilient Lismore will use its local knowledge and systems to drive the recovery project. 

Together, the organisations will select the homes eligible for essential plumbing services using a needs assessment framework that ensures the most vulnerable people in the community are prioritised.

Resilient Lismore Executive Director Elly Bird said, “With a shortage of money, skilled tradespeople and materials, many households are facing huge barriers restoring healthy and habitable living conditions. Our volunteers have already started installing walls for people living in shells of homes – part of the successful Two Rooms Project. Now we can offer two rooms and plumbing.”

We know from our field and community outreach work that a lot of people are living without toilets and bathrooms, so this partnership is a significant moment in our community recovery and we feel so fortunate to be working with an organisation like the Reece Foundation to deliver this.

Resilient Lismore will be prioritising people who cannot afford to do this work themselves and are currently living onsite, but if this work would help get you back home you are encouraged to register. They are scoping the work later in the month and the work will be delivered in January 2023.

Register your interest in Reece Foundation plumbing work here: (Select ‘Plumbing’ as the job type)

https://forms.monday.com/forms/1803c1424767bca50a3826b2fa7d76d1