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Bringing it online
How do we connect when we can no longer gather?
JUNE – AUGUST 2020
“After disasters we need social structures to bring communities together so they can support each other and tell their stories.”
Dr Rob Gordon
Disaster Recovery Psychologist
Psychologist with the Red Cross, Dr Rob Gordon has defined a number of stages experienced by disaster-affected communities.
The first stage immediately after an event is a state of high energy and an experience of mutual help and connection. As time passes, and the complexity of different experiences emerges, a second stage of fragmentation and polarisation develops. The need within the community during this stage is social connection.
Right at the point Lobethal’s fire affected community needed to gather, the entire country was sent home to shelter from COVID-19.
Like many organisations, Fabrik turned to the online space to connect, offering workshops, a Crafterzoom tea, and a letter writing project, Portrayals of a Pandemic, in collaboration with Writers SA. Creative journalling participants were sent weekly reflection prompts and social media posts focused on positivity and encouraging creative activity.
