'Success is seeing the journey through': Cobargo bushfire relief centre to close doors

So it goes for the small not-for-profit team at the Cobargo Community Access Centre, which will be closing its doors on June 30.

Formerly the Cobargo Bushfire Relief Centre, it was set up just days after fire tore through the heart of the village and left many seeking shelter and support at the showground.

For four-and-a-half years, the centre and the women who run it have been a rock for the village, a solid foundation on which to rebuild.

Centre co-founder Chris Walters said they were making the decision with "a fair amount of sadness and regret", but also optimism that much of the community need had been met.

They were realistic enough to know there were still people in the community on their recovery journey and in need of support - but nothing close to what it was like in the aftermath of Black Summer.

In the days immediately following the bushfire devastation of New Year's 2019-20, a handful of locals leapt into action to support their community.

Among them were Chris, Danielle Murphy and Liz Martin - who have remained active with the access centre throughout.

"We were inundated with people who needed our assistance," Chris said.

"Even when we moved here [the current office location], which was three years later, we were still getting an average of 50 people a week.

"Now, we're down to five, if that, per week."

"We've done such a good job we've done ourselves out of a job," she added with a chuckle.

The main role the small group took upon themselves was making sure those in need of particular items or services were matched to the countless donations and offers from support services that were pouring in.

"At the very beginning there were a lot of people volunteering, people rolling their sleeves up and saying 'we're here to help, what can we do?'

"After a relatively short time, people started drifting off back to their own lives and to looking after their own relief and recovery, so there were just a handful of us left."

Chris said there was still "a desperate need" and "many, many donations" still rolling in from across the country.

"Danielle and I looked at each other and thought this really needs some coordination - we had a couple of people from the beginning and willing to stay on.

"We were the last women standing - the men had all gone.

"We got our heads together and said yes we can do this. Not realising what we'd be getting ourselves in for."

They kept records of who needed what and distributed the donations as fairly as possible.

"We had people coming in saying 'oh we need a shovel. Have you got a shovel?' Because people had nothing.

"And we might know that there will be shovels coming in next week. So we kept records of who needed what and then who we had given what to, so that we were able to as fairly as possible distribute the goods that we received - and all that needed coordination.

"It couldn't be done just on an ad-hoc basis or people would have been unfairly treated."

Not everything was about donations and practical help though.

Social and emotional engagement was also vitally important.

In the early days there were Christmas parties and "a really fun Halloween party" bringing together the residents and those who had sought support through the access centre.

Regular morning teas have in fact been one of the most popular elements of the access centre's offerings, and will continue thanks to support from the Anglican Church.

And although the centre will be closed, its website will remain active for the next 12 months, pointing people to where they can go should they need access to help.

"For me personally it's seeing people being able to work their way through the disaster and come out the other end pretty whole - not completely, no-one is.

"But success is to be able to see people through the journey, to see where they began and where they are now."

For now, it's about time for the team to take a step back and look after themselves - Chris is about to embark on a round-Australia caravan trip with her husband.

Just as important as being a pillar of support for their community, the women at the community access centre had to ensure they looked after themselves too.

"The three of us [Chris, Danielle and Liz] particularly have supported each other really well," Chris said.

"We've talked a lot between ourselves about how we're feeling and so on and I think that being able to do that and being able to be open with each other and support each other has been really helpful.

"We've also had really supportive groups of other agencies and other organisations, and we're all very aware that we need to look after ourselves.

"I think people are much more resilient than they give themselves credit for.

"Some people will never bounce back, but most people have largely bounced back and have found a way through.

"Even if their life isn't back to what it was before, they have managed to make a new a new normal if you like."