Ashburton District Neighbourhood Support

Neighbourhood Support is a “we” thing. It doesn’t have an “I” or “them” or “those”, it is all encompassing and involves everyone in the community.

It encourages care of neighbours, an understanding of what our area has the capacity to do, especially in the wake of an event, and encourages the community to do its best with issues and problem solving.

Neighbourhood Support can be the catalyst with all of that, but it is ultimately the community we rely on to address its needs. Recently I was made aware of rubbish that had been dumped on the side of the road.

It transpired it was from a stolen trailer and this was the residue the thieves obviously didn’t want.

Snap, Send and Solve is an app you can download on your mobile phone. Take a photo and send it to the relevant authority. The council can clear it, but involvement with the police also indicates a trail that can be followed.

Thefts from our local business premises, both retail and commercial, can be addressed through a collective hub, which can share information using What’s App, security cameras as intelligence, and basically working together to provide outcomes.

A lack of understanding of emergency services has prompted a community ethnic day, so that these valuable services can be identified, become tangible, and above all, understood by newcomers to the district who may be unaware of how these work and operate.

It then empowers people to use these services and initiate a call without hesitancy. It is also about youth capacity – helping a neighbour with rubbish, walking a dog, pulling some weeds, showing them how to use their phone; these are all small things that can make such a difference to someone else who does not have the skills or ability.

Neighbourhood Support is a great initiative. Use it and benefit from it.