Port Macquarie-Hastings Council encourages all community members who have been directly affected by the recent floods to visit one of the flood outreach centres to find out what support is available to them.
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The centres are at the School of Arts building on the corner of Bold and Laurie Streets Laurieton, and 143 Gordon Street Port Macquarie, on the Gore Street corner, opposite Growers' Market.
"We want to make sure no one misses out on getting the help and support they need from the appropriate agencies that are here in town right now," said Lucilla Marshall, group manager community.
"Thousands of properties were damaged in some way in our region. Our outreach centres are for all those affected; businesses, property owners, tenants, and community members.
"We are hearing from people that they believe their damage is minor and don't want to bother government agencies when so many others are 'worse-off'.
"Please don't think your problem isn't worth our time. We are here to help and support everyone affected and there are so many ways we can lend a hand."
At the outreach centres, staff from council, government agencies, charities, legal and insurance services can help connect people and businesses with everything to make the road to recovery faster.
Ms Marshall said a recent customer whose home sustained minor damage was surprised with the support she received after registering at the outreach centre.
"Coming in to a centre or registering with Service NSW is an important step for everyone affected, no matter how big or small the flood impact was," Ms Marshall said.
"We understand that this is a very traumatic time for people and many are still in the process of cleaning up and may not be ready to start the next steps.
"We can connect you with volunteers from Disaster Relief Australia to help with that clean up, and the right services to start the process of insurance claims or finding alternative housing, and other tasks like replacing lost documents, linking your business with assistance options, mental health help and much more.
"The danger in not registering as soon as possible is that if demand drops, the services may be harder to contact.
"We encourage everyone affected to take that first step to ensure they get the maximum benefit from all the services available."
Outreach centres are open in Port Macquarie and Laurieton 9am-5pm weekdays and 9am-noon weekends.
If you can't make it to a centre, call Service NSW on 13 77 88 to register.
For help with clean up and waste pick ups phone the outreach hotline on 6581 8444 during the above hours.
Disaster Relief Australia (DRA) brings together the skills of military veterans, emergency services and the community to help those affected by disasters.
In the Port Macquarie-Hastings, DRA will be helping with mucking out of properties, removing water damages furniture and contents, clearing access to properties, removing damaged walls and fixtures, and cleaning up yards.
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