IT’S impossible to make a sweeping comment about how far those affected by the tragedy of Black Saturday have come.

People have suffered different levels of grief - some have lost family and friends, some have lost their property, some only lost a part of the fencing that runs along their farms.

Further adding to the complex nature of the recovery process in affected communities is the vastly different ways people have chosen to cope with the disaster.

Dr Margaret Grigg, assistant director of the bushfire psychological recovery plan, said it might take up to two years for some people to begin seeking psychological help for the trauma they’ve been carrying with them quietly since 7 February 2009, while others have already moved into their new house, built in the spot where their old home was destroyed.

The most accurate thing one can say about the recovery is that everyone is at different stages.

Wally Spezza, last week named Whittlesea’s Citizen of the Year, saved his Kinglake West home on Black Saturday, but hasn’t moved back. Instead, he is living in South Morang and has offered his home to displaced residents.

“We’re still having emotional issues with moving back in, so I’m having to sustain both the mortgage and rental at the moment,” he said.

Henry Snowden and wife Melinda Hobson, whose story was published in Star last year, fully rebuilt their home in Upper Plenty and moved in before Christmas.

Theirs is a tale of resilience and getting on with the job. Upper Plenty was their home. They originally moved there because they loved the place and they weren’t going to let the most devastating fire in Australian history stop them.

Upper Plenty is in fact a prime example of a community which has bonded through shared experience.

Many residents now look forward to the monthly meeting at the township’s community hub “The Shack”. The bushfire recovery group was established in March last year and is still going strong as an informal get-together.

Kris Pavlidis, who launched the meetings, said Upper Plenty did not have a real sense of community before Black Saturday. The tragedy has brought people together – an example of what medical journals have described as “post-traumatic benefits”.

Dean Cerneka’s house was razed in Kinglake West. He is living in temporary accommodation while he decides whether he wants to re-build.

As a town planner, Dean has been heavily involved in the re-building effort, but acknowledges that physical evidence of new housing is not necessarily a sign of healing.

Many people are so exhausted that they don’t even want to think about constructing a house.

Dr Grigg urged the wider community to respect the gradual, delicate way people have chosen to deal with something most could never comprehend.

“People are really struggling to return to their lives … it’s important to give people the space and time to make decisions at the time that they’re ready for it,” she said.

“People can feel pressure, thinking ‘I should be doing something, I should be rebuilding’, and they actually later regret some of the decisions they go on to make.

“People will really need to receive support and assistance over the months and years to come.”

So if individuals are coping in such divergent ways, how does a community as a whole get back on its feet?

Undoubtedly one of the most successful initiatives has been the formation of community recovery committees - groups of locals who advocate on behalf of their community to rebuild or upgrade community facilities.

In Whittlesea for example, a community services hub was built and opened in June, and the recovery committee has also received funding to repair and upgrade of the Whittlesea Oval.

The groups are affiliated with the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority, which helps communities access money for projects through the Victorian Bushfire Appeals Fund.

The committees have given a voice to their communities, and the more permanent infrastructure that is built in the stricken towns, the greater confidence their communities will have to move forward, while never forgetting the 173 lives lost on that fateful day.