The 140 residents who are now living in caravans and demountable units on the site were informed of the August end date to the facility at a December meeting.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was in Elmore recently to meet with residents and allay fears of what would happen post-August 15.
“We have been given assurances that every resident will have a personal case manager,” Rochester Community House Flood Recovery Co-ordinator Tanya McDermott said.
“If their home is not available by August 15 they will be provided with accommodation options.
“We’ve been kept in the loop.
“People can come to us for information, but people who are living there know the process.”
There is a tick over seven months until the site’s use-by date is reached and ERV, along with Anglicare and the Downer Group, are working with Rochester Community House to transition the residents to alternative accommodation.
The community house will continue to have an active role at the site until all residents are relocated.
Ms McDermott started in the flood-recovery role late last year and said last week the community house had been given a guarantee that no person would be left without an accommodation option when the site closed.
“Our role is to support the Rochester people who are living there,” she said.
“ERV runs the venue, while Downer has been contracted to look after the site and Anglicare manages the people coming in.
“We come into play below those three organisations, to ensure the residents at the site retain their connection to the Rochester community.”
Ms McDermott joined the Rochester Community House team under the leadership of Amanda Logie, who now has a half-dozen-strong team under her management.
Youth project worker Jenna Harvey and recently-appointed well-being officer Bernadette Wright have been working closely with the displaced residents from the 4Rs Diggora Rd temporary base of the community house.
“Jenna is working to provide activities and entertainment, while Bernadette is available two days a week in a well-being role,” Ms McDermott said.
Ms McDermott will be at the Elmore site one day a week.
“There is a lot of positivity at the Elmore site, they have embraced what they are dealing with and were provided with great Christmas and new year’s eve events.
“They will soon have a resident’s committee up and running, taking some ownership of the site,” she said.
Rochester Community House is waiting on confirmation about a date for another community forum with the Insurance Council of Australia, which follows on from two days of meetings with insurance representatives last year.
There is a major gulf in the experiences of people, some having already been given the green light for repairs on their homes by insurance companies, while others struggle to come to terms.
“That was among the subjects that were spoken about with the premier, who is well aware of the shortfall in tradespeople available to assist in the recovery,” Ms McDermott said.
