What is Social Cohesion & Why It Matters After Disaster

By Julie-Anne Peake, Clinical Psychologist - myMHC

When floods swept through Yeronga in 2022 and fires devastated Cudlee Creek in South Australia in 2019, what helped people rebuild wasn’t just emergency aid or infrastructure - it was coming together. Community BBQs, well-being check-ins, creative workshops: small acts of connection came to mean everything. Social cohesion turned out to be one of the strongest tools in recovery.

What is Social Cohesion & Why It Matters After Disaster

Social cohesion refers to the bonds that bring a community together: trust, mutual support, shared identity, and networks of care. In disaster recovery, those bonds matter for many reasons:

• Mental health & coping: A sense of belonging, practical and emotional support reduce distress and increase people’s sense of self-efficacy. 

• Information flow & safety: People connected to neighbours, community groups or local leaders are more likely to receive warnings, evacuate safely, find help, or share resources.

• Collective action & resource pooling:  Rebuilding often requires many hands: volunteers, shared tools, communal efforts make recovery faster and more equitable.

• Resilience against future shocks: Communities that remain connected tend to bounce back better; they are more prepared, more adaptive. 

Examples from Australia: Staying Connected in Action

Here are real ways Australians have built or used social cohesion during disaster recovery:

1. Creative Recovery Initiatives
   On the Mid North Coast, for communities hit by natural disasters, Arts Mid North Coast ran “Creative Recovery Network” training programs. These support people to process loss, rebuild community identity, and connect through art, storytelling, performance. 

2. Yeronga Community Centre Post-Floods Support
   After the 2022 floods in Queensland, Yeronga Community Centre provided material aid, psychosocial support, and did well-being checks. It served as a local hub where people came together, shared information and support. 

3. Cudlee Creek, South Australia – Re-building Social Connectedness
   Following the 2019 bushfires, research in Cudlee Creek found that although homes and landscapes were lost, many people reported strengthened ties to neighbours, more reciprocal mutual aid, and an increased sense of belonging over time.

4. Community Resilience Programs in NSW
   Organisations in New South Wales ran Community Resilience Programs that train local leaders, support mental health, facilitate local workshops, build networks of care. These programs have shown improvements in mental health outcomes, social capital, and adaptive capacity. 

5. “Big Map” Exercises (Disaster Relief Australia)
   These are proactive risk-mapping and community engagement sessions; communities identifying their own hazards, planning how to respond, and building relationships with each other and emergency services. When disaster hits, these pre-existing connections matter.

How to Keep Connected and Build Social Cohesion

Here are some practices / activities to help stay connected:

• Neighbourhood meetups and shared meals (“community BBQs”, potlucks) especially post-disaster to share stories, check on wellbeing.

• Local volunteer groups or “mud armies” to assist with clean-up, repairing homes, restoring community spaces.

• Creative / arts-based workshops: art, music, performance to help express collective trauma, remember what was lost, and rebuild identity.

• Well-being / psychosocial check-in programs: visiting people, especially those isolated, elderly, or with special needs.

• Disaster-preparedness planning as a community: mapping risks together, deciding evacuation routes, planning resources.

• Local leadership / community participation: making sure affected people have voice in recovery planning; not only external agencies deciding.

Challenges & What Needs Attention

Of course, staying connected isn’t automatic. Some of the barriers:

• Isolation – remote/rural areas, or people who are socially marginalised, elderly, or have limited mobility can get left out.

• Trauma & loss – grief, mental health burdens can make people withdraw.

• Trust issues – if people feel excluded by authorities, or feel that aid is distributed unfairly, social trust can be eroded.

• Resources – social cohesion needs investment: community spaces, funding for local programs, trained facilitators.

Why It’s So Important: A Summary

Staying connected after disaster is so important to recovery. It supports survival, mental health, rebuilding, and helps ensure that the recovery is equitable, inclusive and sustainable. Communities with stronger cohesion tend to fare better, both in the immediate aftermath and in the long run.

Call to Action

If you’re reading this and want to help in your community:

• Reach out to neighbours: check who may need help.

• Join or start local recovery groups or creative projects.

• Advocate for local government to invest in social infrastructure (community centres, mental health programs, etc.).

• Participate in disaster preparedness: know your risks, help others to know theirs.

#DisasterRecovery #CommunityConnections #SocialCohesion #Resilience #AustraliaStrong #CommunityHealing #TogetherWeRecover

References

1. The hidden power of community: social capital in Australia’s disaster resilience. Australian Red Cross. Australian Red Cross

2. Supporting disaster-affected communities in regional Australia with creative recovery initiatives (Arts Mid North Coast). knowledge.aidr.org.au

3. Post-Disaster Social Connectedness in Cudlee Creek, SA (2019 bushfires). USQ Repository

4. The impact of different types of social resources on coping self-efficacy and distress during the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. MDPI

5. Community Resilience Programs in NSW – building capacity, local leaders, mental health outcomes. Relationships Australia NSW

6. Big Map exercises by Disaster Relief Australia. Disaster Relief Australia

7. Building social resilience through community-oriented approaches to disaster management. thepolicymaker.appi.org.au