Friday 13 December 2013 - ―Outstanding‖ example of people-centred earthquake recovery process This week The Human Rights Commission released a fascinating report on the impact of the earthquakes on the people of Canterbury.
Mary Gordon
Monitoring Human Rights in the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery examines the human rights challenges that have emerged during the recovery. It also provides some examples of policies and initiatives that have succeeded by putting people and human rights at the centre of decision-making.
The report highlights the impact housing has on health. Many of us work in increasingly specialised fields and it can be easy to lose sight of things, like adequate housing, which have such a large impact on health. In that regard the report makes sobering reading. According to the report, since the earthquakes there‟s been a significant reduction in rental housing. This, combined with increased demand, has led to increased rental prices. All of this comes at a time when over 1000 social housing units have been lost. Some people have been priced out of the rental market and forced to move from place to place, live in uninhabitable housing, or on the streets. These are some of our most vulnerable people. The report highlights the „secondary stressors‟ that are affecting people‟s mental health and wellbeing , and demonstrates the impacts of the earthquakes on specialist mental health services. Secondary stressors include the frustrations caused by things such as constant roadworks, the closure of recreational facilities, or dealing with insurers and other agencies involved in the recovery. There are however many positives to come out of the report, and people working in the Canterbury Health System have many reasons to hold their heads high. Our work to transform the Canterbury Health System by supporting people to stay well in their own homes and communities is praised in the report as an “outstanding” example of a people-centred earthquake recovery process that will lead to better outcomes.
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