'Caring for others is contagious': Australians open up their homes for bushfire survivors

Australians are opening up their homes to bushfire survivors who have lost theirs, with many picking up the pieces and others on tenterhooks amid forecasts conditions could deteriorate again this weekend.

The bushfire crisis has seen devastating loss of life, property and animals around the country, with 2131 homes lost and 27 people dead.

But it has already seen Australians come together with an outpouring of generosity and kindness through donations and fundraisers around the country and abroad. 

Batemans Bay resident Roz Odgers, is one of the many Australians to lend a helping hand. She has opened up her Airbnb property to friends who cannot return to their Rosedale home, despite it being spared by the New Year’s Eve bushfire.

“Their home was still standing but it wasn’t liveable. They’ve got no water, no electricity … so we asked them to move in [to our Airbnb home],” said Ms Odgers, who is also the deputy leader of the local Red Cross Emergency Service.

She worked 12-hour shifts at the local evacuation centre for a week straight before a relief team was sent down from Sydney, so the locals could take a two-day break.

“Everyone is trying to help … a lot of the accommodation has gone and the evacuation centre is finding it difficult to find accommodation for people,” she said. 

She also took in a former neighbour – who is in her nineties – after she was brought into the evacuation centre on New Year’s Eve, because Ms Odgers realised she had nowhere to go.

“I brought her home to our place and she stayed the night,” she said.

“Another friend of ours still doesn’t have any electricity … one of our volunteers had all her house burnt and she still has no electricity.”

She considers herself one of the lucky ones and is just happy to help. “We’re very, very lucky. We’re fine. You can’t get a sad story out of us.”

On New Year’s Eve, 69 kilometres north of Batemans Bay, out of control bushfires also ravaged Conjola Park and continue to be a threat. 

It has prevented neighbouring Fishermans Paradise resident Stuart Hudson from returning home since before Christmas as fires having been threatening the area for weeks. He’s been living out of his car instead.

“Only 20 people stayed to defend their homes … I haven’t been home since November by choice because of the fire threat to our little village,” said Mr Hudson, who defended his property in 2002 during the Morton National Park bushfires.

“It just became really apparent to me back then that we were fighting fire with garden hoses, so my choice was to evacuate this time.”

He said while his home and the majority of homes in the small hamlet are still standing – despite either side of the hamlet being wiped out – his community is still bushfire-affected, with no power or water.

“It’s still not safe to go home. The local council has organised a portable shower block in my yard.”

After living out of his car for more than a month, he heard writer Erin Riley on ABC Radio speaking on Monday about finding accommodation for bushfire victims.

“For the first hour it was called “Share A Bed” … they realised after an hour it wasn’t appropriate,” Mr Hudson laughed. “Little snippets of humour like that breaks the tension, anxiety and all the other emotions.”

He got in touch with Ms Riley’s Findabed initiative in the hope of finding a place to shower.

“No joke, within two hours I had a place to stay that night … initially, I asked for a place to have a shower but they matched me with people near where my work is and I’ve been there the rest of this week.”

“It’s heartwarming … all you can really do is say thank you … you’re in a position where you don’t have access to your mail, your support network, you’re completely alone,” Mr Hudson said.

“Caring for others is contagious … that’s one of the best things about Findabed – people care. Once you have someone emotionally hugging you, giving you a bed, giving you a shower, little snippets of hope come back,” Mr Hudson said. “We need that goodwill.”

So far, the service has helped at least 50 households that lost their homes find accommodation.

The NSW government on Thursday launched a dedicated housing service to support the urgent housing needs of bushfire victims and $1 billion over the next two years to rebuild affected communities.

Useful links:

• Red Cross
• NSW Government Bushfire Housing Assistance Service
• Findabed
• Airbnb disaster relief

If you’re a Domain customer affected by the recent bushfire crisis, find out how we can help support you here.