Recovery Newsletter March April 2013

March/April 2013 | Issue 7

Newsletter

SACRED HEART FIRST TO USE SCHOOLCHILDREN’S GRANT

WELCOME

ANGELA PYKE EDITOR

¡ Happy campers searching for sea creatures.

A group of Year 7 and 8 students from Sacred Heart, a decile three school in Addington, is the first to benefit from the $9.3 million Christchurch Schoolchildren’s Grant launched by the New Zealand Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Commission in February.

The students enjoyed a three-day camp at Wainui, near Akaroa, in March.

The camp was one of a number of Sacred Heart School projects made possible by the grant. It was jointly funded by Sacred Heart School, students’ families and the grant money.

Principal Trish Sleeman says the students had “an incredible time” which included kayaking with dolphins and getting up before dawn to watch the Queen Mary II sail into Akaroa Harbour.

“It was a joy to see the children at Wainui so happy and appreciative of the amazing outdoor opportunities.”

Year 8 student Anne Fernando says

her favourite activity was coasteering, which involved “searching for crabs and other fascinating creatures under the rugged rocks, painting mud artistically on our faces, jumping off large cliffs, swimming in the freezing ocean and some serious splashing”.

This is the first ‘overnight’ camp the school has held since the earthquake because, until now, many of the students have been insecure and having problems sleeping.

Mrs Sleeman says that the grant will benefit “still anxious” students and lessen the earthquake-related financial burden for families.

“While we all feel life is more settled in our city, the smallest tremor brings anxiety to us all,” says Mrs Sleeman.

“The grant takes a huge pressure from families who have rising rents and are on the minimum wage and find it difficult to provide for all the extras.”

The school will also use the grant to supplement transport to swimming lessons, sports uniforms and memberships, Life Education programmes and an end of year trip to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. continued page three

Welcome to the March/April edition of the New Zealand Red Cross Recovery newsletter.

There is plenty to celebrate in this issue, such as the first use of the Christchurch Schoolchildren’s Grant, another successful visit by disaster psychologist Dr Rob Gordon and a positive outcome for two of our grant recipients. There is also an important warning – to slow down and take care of ourselves. It is common for people to run out of energy in the third and fourth years of recovery so now is the time to focus on what brings us relaxation and enjoyment.

angela.pyke@redcross.org.nz

In this issue Sacred Heart first to use Christchurch Schoolchildren’s Grant Disaster psychologist says stop and slow down Grant recipients thank New Zealand Red Cross

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NEW ZEALAND RED CROSS Jane Edgar – RECOVERY PROGRAMME MANAGER

Jane Edgar Recovery Programme MANAGER

We have all heard the catch phrase that recovery is a marathon not a sprint and that a fast recovery is not necessarily a good recovery.

So as we watch the rebuild progress does this then mean that we fold under the burden of the practical realities of recovering here in Canterbury? How do we maintain focus on the things that give our life value and meaning, like relationships, family, recreational activities, health or career?

To support people in making sense of the recovery journey and develop some strategies for year three, New Zealand Red Cross recently brought Dr Rob Gordon, a specialist in disaster psychology, back to Christchurch for a series of talks, open to community and also targeting people working in community development.

District Health Board initiative. All Right? is about ensuring wellbeing is at the heart of our recovery and is a campaign that we fully support and will be promoting throughout 2013 through our various recovery programmes including: Community Transport, Outreach, Canterbury Men’s support and Winter Warmers.

Eleven sessions and around 24 hours of conversation later, Dr Rob had covered a raft of topics from the biology of stress, the importance of maintaining daily and weekly routines, the value and critical importance of mind mulling or reflection time and the power of networks or social groups in sustaining and supporting our recovery.

One key take home message from the series of talks and the All Right? campaign is that recovery in Canterbury means finding a new normal and that new normal needs to place priority on our own care and wellbeing. The importance of leisure and pleasure should not be underestimated.

We took the opportunity to link Dr Rob’s visit to the recently launched All Right? campaign, a joint Mental Health Foundation and Canterbury

Jane Edgar

GUEST Column Roger Sutton Chief Executive Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority

Having recently commemorated the second anniversary of the February 2011 earthquake, it is pleasing to reflect on how far we have come as a city.

We are now in the year of the rebuild and there is visible progress in our CBD and suburbs.

None of this of course diminishes the difficulties many people are still facing, and it is crucial that the most vulnerable residents get the help they need before the harsh Canterbury winter sets in.

This is where an organisation like Red Cross is so important. Working together we will ensure we are doing the best to drive the recovery forward.

At CERA we have set a list of priorities for 2013 to maintain the momentum of the recovery.

We aim to build the confidence in the city’s redevelopment across the local, national and international markets, and to get the message out that construction is starting to ramp up.

We’ve worked hard on communication with the community, with the likes of meetings for residents and multidisciplinary workshops.

The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan is moving from a planning phase to physical progress, with anchor projects beginning to take shape.

One major step we have taken to emphasise the change in our focus is to move away from calling the closed-off area of the central city the Red Zone, and renaming it the Rebuild Zone.

Physical work on the first section of the Avon River Precinct is underway, and the concept design for the full River Precinct and East Frame is being finalised.

While the cordons will remain in place for a few more months, they are being reduced as quickly as possible.

All of the land for the new Convention Centre Precinct will be in Crown ownership and cleared by the end of this year. The land that will be home to the city’s new Metro Sports Facility will start to be cleared in 2013, paving the way for work to get underway on construction in 2014.

Another priority is ensuring the timely repair and rebuilding of our residential areas. This involves managing the Crown’s Residential Red Zone process, supporting residents still living there and moving on, and systematically clearing these areas. It also means ensuring adequate land supply and housing.

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All of this is a good sign for the people of Christchurch as we brace for the winter months to come.

Recovery NEWSLETTER march/April 2013 continued from page one

creativity in all of the school’s 150 pupils.

Another portion of the grant has been used to bring an itinerant music specialist into the school to prepare students for a performance at an annual multicultural arts festival.

Recovery Grants Manager Christine Haywood says the school was delightful to work with.

The festival holds special significance for the culturally diverse school at which the majority of students are new migrants with English as their second language.

“The principal was extremely enthusiastic and has made excellent use of the grant. By using the grant to supplement money from families and school fundraising, she has been able to cover a wide range of needs and activities which will benefit all students.”

The performance will celebrate the school’s diversity, instil confidence in students learning English and develop

Christchurch schools have been given application forms and have until 26 April to submit their application.

¡ Students practising their xylophone parts for the annual arts festival.

Programmes Christchurch last October, which he says is not surprising.

“By the third year of recovery we see people beginning to run out of energy, resilience and optimism,” he says. “In every disaster I’ve been involved in everybody has felt that things have been done badly, slowly and in a disorganised way.

“It is crucial that people shift their focus from things that are out of their control, such as government policies and EQC delays, to what they need to look after.”

Dr Rob says the common complaint of excessive tiredness is normal.

¡ Dr Rob Gordon addressing the Sumner community.

Stop and slow down says disaster psychologist Psychologist and disaster specialist Dr Rob Gordon told people in Canterbury to expect more stress and to help themselves and each other by stopping and slowing down.

Almost 300 people attended community forums held in Ouruhia and

Sumner on 12 and 14 March, which had as their theme ”understanding the stresses of recovery in the third and fourth years: protecting health, lifestyle and relationships”.

Sign language interpreters were at the Sumner forum for members of the deaf community who attended.

During his visit Dr Rob met with Red Cross staff and volunteers as well as others working in recovery, mental health practitioners, the seriously injured and bereaved families.

He noticed that people seemed more frustrated than when he was in

“When you have been in stress mode for a long time your reserves get eaten up by stress chemicals. It is not until things become less chaotic that you realise how depleted your reserves have become.”

“It is important to take time to assess your energy levels and if you are tired to do something to recharge your batteries. Think about what you used to do for pleasure and may have stopped doing since the earthquake and find a way to get involved again.

Social connection is very important in the third and fourth years of recovery.”

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NEW ZEALAND RED CROSS Recovery NEWSLETTER March/April 2013

GRANTS HELP FIX HOMES AND HEARTS A heartfelt letter of thanks to the Christchurch Recovery team from Dennis and Julie Jeffries is a reminder of how our grants are changing lives and, sometimes, even keeping families together.

Dennis and Julie have spent 33 years lovingly restoring their beautiful 100-year-old kauri villa but when the 22 February quake struck they were just four days overdue with their insurance premium payment. Their house was devastated and they were uninsured.

“Our family has been stretched to the limits over the last two years…the boys bearing the brunt of our anger,

¡ Dennis and Julie Jeffries in front of their repaired home.

STAFF PROFILE “My focus recently has been implementing lessons learnt from the Canterbury earthquakes,” says Stephen. “One exciting outcome has been the establishment of a regional warehouse in Christchurch, which was completed in February.”

Stephen Manson is the Emergency Management Officer for the South Island, based in Christchurch.

His role involves emergency planning with partner agencies and South Island local authorities. He makes sure the nine South Island response teams are

“Seeing the house broken around us broke our hearts but seeing it now, all lovely and clean and painted, has healed our hearts and given us our lives back.”

“So to all of you a huge thanks …

We have been extremely humbled by the help we have received from Red Cross over the last year…there are so many wonderful people out there.”

No worries, Julie. We’re happy to be of help.

The Jeffries received a $9,000 Building Materials Grant along with other smaller grants.

Winter Warmer Packs

equipped, trained and ready to respond.

STEPHEN MANSON

sadness and such,” writes Julie.

The warehouse acts as an assembly and deployment area for the 50-person Christchurch response team. It also stores emergency supplies including several thousand blankets, tarpaulins, water containers and welfare stocks for Christchurch City Council.

It will soon house one of the two South Island welfare support trucks.

Following last year’s high demand for Winter Warmer Packs, the New Zealand Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Commission has approved the distribution of 7,500 Winter Warmer Packs this winter.

REMINDER! Applications for our Disability Support Grant will close on 16 April 2013.

The grant is available to assist people with significant disabilities who are having difficulties meeting disability-related needs because of the effect of the earthquakes.

For eligibility or more information go to www.redcross.org.nz and click on Canterbury.

KEY STATISTICS National Office

$

83

million distributed in grants

97,505 grants recipients

3,480 5,164 outreach visits

door knocks

43,454

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torch radios distributed

PO Box 12140, Wellington 69 Molesworth Street, Thorndon, Wellington 6144 Phone 04 471 8250 Email national@redcross.org.nz Website www.redcross.org.nz