The recently renamed Cobargo Community Access Centre has moved into the Business Innovation Hub, alongside four small business owners who experienced extreme loss during the Black Summer bushfires.
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The centre is run by Chris Walters and Danielle Murphy.
Ms Murphy started operating Cobargo's Bushfire Relief Centre from the showground on January 3, 2020.
"I was there every day from 6am to 11pm," she said.
"We were all running on cortisol."
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Ms Walters joined her days later and immediately saw the relief organisations, donations and people coming in seeking help needed coordinating.
They operated from the "very accommodating" showground for six months because its huge pavilion was overflowing with donated items and people with nowhere else to go were staying there.
It was seen as a safe place where people felt comfortable going to to seek assistance.
Change in people's feelings
When the time came to move sentiment had changed.
"We didn't want to be in the middle of town because people didn't necessarily want to be seen seeking help," Ms Walters said.
They moved to a cottage on the town's edge and their work shifted to making connections and liaising with service providers and NGOs.
As they were dealing with highly traumatised people they got mental health first aid and accidental counselling training.
Gaps identified
They moved to the business hub in November 2022 and renamed themselves.
"It wasn't just a name change but the change in what we do," Ms Murphy said.
The change in their activities was the result of a very large scoping study of community members and service providers they conducted in early 2022 that identified the gaps.
That study now informs their operation.
They no longer only help people directly affected by bushfires but also anyone in the broader community who doesn't have access to services they need because they aren't available in Cobargo, are too far away or are not aware they exist.
"We provide pathways to services and information because in some cases people aren't aware the services exist and we provide space for the service providers like mental health and legal services to come here," Ms Walters said.
That was one of the gaps the scoping study revealed.
They are putting on events like their extremely popular High Tea Tuesdays for Seniors while keeping across what community groups like Cobargo Green Recovery are doing to avoid duplication.
They help community members with administration and computers and hope to offer skills workshops.
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