Selwyn Neighbourhood Support The Selwyn District has been the fastest growing district in NZ for the past few years now, so with thousands of new people moving in, getting to know your neighbours can be a challenge, but also takes on a whole new level of importance. In some areas the whole neighbourhood is made up of new residents, so no one has the local knowledge that can be so important during an emergency event. To help with this, the Selwyn District Council has a fund available for those in the community who want to get to know their neighbours. Whether you’d like to run a street BBQ, summer picnic or international cuisine evening with your neighbours, the Council has funding available and are offering a subsidy of up to $75 per group through their Meet Your Street funding.
If you needed to leave your house right now, where would you go? What would you take? If you were stuck at home with no power or running water, how would you cope? Recent events in Selwyn have reminded us how simple things can make a huge difference to us and our families when emergencies happen. The good news is, it’s really easy to get ready now. Our top four tips are store some water, have a household emergency plan, join Selwyn Gets Ready, and get to know your neighbours. If you’d like to know more,w the Selwyn District Council Civil Defence team have produced a free booklet called ‘Are You Ready? A guide to emergency preparedness in Selwyn’, which is available at the Selwyn Libraries and Service Centres.
For more details, call (03) 3472 800 or visit: selwyn.govt.nz/meetyourstreet. In Selwyn our Civil Defence teams and Neighbourhood Support groups work together to ensure that our most vulnerable residents are checked on and looked after during a civil defence emergency event. It is important that every household has plans about how they will respond when an emergency happens i.e., major flood, fire or earthquake. It’s up to you to make sure your family and the people you care about know what to do, and you all have what you need to get through on your own.
For more information contact: Sue Jenkins Selwyn Neighbourhood Support Coordinator sue.jenkins@selwyn.govt.nz Page 29
