The cumulative effect of natural disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic has increased fatigue and stress among volunteers in regional Australia, making it harder for them to provide essential support within the community, a study has found.
The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) says the resulting burnout among community groups could lead to greater isolation and a loss of critical services in regional areas, if more flexible funding options and better support are not offered.
Natalie Egleton, chief executive of the FRRR, says these groups are “the backbone and the fabric of these communities” and are responsible for everything from recreation and arts institutions to emergency services, as well as support for homeless people and those experiencing domestic violence.
“You walk into any regional, rural or remote town, pretty much everything you look at from the art, the maintenance of halls and buildings, any event you go to, the local community groups are behind it,” Egleton said.
The report showed the social and cultural role played by community organisations is vital, despite the limitations on their resources. More than half of the almost 640 responding community organisations employ no paid staff, are run by volunteers and have a turnover of less than $50,000.
In their first study of the rural not-for-profit sector, the FRRR engaged an independent survey expert who ran an open and anonymous survey targeting members, volunteers and employees of grassroots not-for-profit organisations, screening out any from major cities.
More than half the groups provided activities to help improve the mental health and wellbeing of their communities, either directly (59%) or indirectly by combatting social isolation (57%), while a little under half (46%) also provided activities to help maintain the physical health of their communities.
The report found these organisations were struggling to remain operational because of the impact of constant disruptions over a long period of time, including droughts, fires, floods, a mouse plague and the pandemic, which acted as the “final straw” for many.
As a result of Covid-19 restrictions, about a third of community organisations have either reduced volunteer hours, lost volunteers altogether to illness, isolation, relocation or caring responsibilities, or lost them due to a lack of need.
The report found that at the same time over a fifth of respondents said that their volunteers are working more to deal with greater demand.
Egleton said that as “the number of volunteers is dropping off, a smaller number of people are left holding a larger amount of work and often they’re not getting paid for it”.
Sara Jenkins, a coordinator at Corryong Neighbourhood Centre in Victoria’s north-east, said the centre has been “absolutely hammered” since the pandemic, which came after the community was devastated by the black summer bushfires.
“They used to come in and say, ‘Someone told me you could help with x or y’. Now they just come in and say, ‘I need help’,” Jenkins said.
Before the bushfires the centre was focused on more traditional neighbourhood housing activities centred around social inclusion, education and welfare support.
But now it has to concentrate on providing the community with essential services related to unemployment, bushfire recovery projects and disaster payments, digital literacy and an “enormous” number of mental health issues, Jenkins said.
Funding and internet concerns
The centre is one of many community groups which the FRRR’s research found had increased demand for their services during the pandemic, at the same time as Covid-19 had stymied their normal fundraising revenues.
Before the bushfires, the Corryong Neighbourhood Centre was experiencing 15-20% annual growth through its social enterprise bakery, which was able to provide 85% of its turnover.
But the revenue from the bakery and workshop has “fallen off a cliff” without tourists and with lockdowns in the area, Jenkins said.
The research found community organisations were frustrated that they can only access funding that is project specific, while there is never any assistance to meet the base operating costs.
“There’s a clear call to action from this report for the organisations themselves to be funded, not just the project,” Egleton said.
One of the basic operating costs that became more urgent amid the pandemic was basic digital connectivity, with approximately a third of all respondents reporting either no internet access or unreliable coverage.
Prior to the pandemic, groups could meet and talk face-to-face, but Covid restrictions and unreliable internet coverage has meant many country community groups have been unable to continue their operations.
“An organisation or facility in town might have OK internet access but their volunteer base or community members are likely to not have that access,” Egleton said.
Penny Judge, a volunteer at Craigie Community Hall and Delegate School of Arts in New South Wales, also believes addressing structural problems is crucial.
“Community groups are being called upon increasingly to plug the holes left by government but just don’t have the resources to do it,” Judge said.
“Finding a deep commitment to the community is increasingly difficult when the family unit is constantly under pressure due to lack of basic services, job insecurity, stagnant wages, ageing populations and a drift to the cities by the young.”
The FRRR study recommended that funding bodies allow the communities greater flexibility in how and when funding can be used. It also recommended that the grant process was streamlined and simplified, and that assurance of long-term funding are provided.
Community groups also want access to training and greater external support to help them operate.
“The study is telling us that if organisations are better resourced with equipment and personnel training, the organisations will do a lot more, and a lot more effectively,” Egleton said.
The Narromine Aviation Museum in NSW, which is run entirely by volunteers, is the shire’s top tourist attraction, according to museum chairman Peter Kierath, who is trying to encourage volunteers to join after numbers declined during the lockdown in western NSW.
The museum brings strong economic benefits to the town, Kierath said. “People coming to Narromine specifically to see the museum will go down to the local cafe for coffee and a meal. They might also stay the night.”
The FRRR research said that without community groups, “in some cases, the community would simply not exist”.