Organisations and individuals in Ōrākei have come together with the common goal of making our community safer and better prepared for emergencies.
In June 2024, Ōrākei Local Board partially funded a part-time ‘Neighbourhood Activator’ role, carried out by Tiffany Crombie. Tiffany’s job is to co-ordinate Neighbourhood Support across the local board area and connect communities.
“In talking to our community, we heard that despite living in one of the best parts of New Zealand, there are still lonely people in our neighbourhood,” says local board chair Scott Milne.
“The board is keen to promote resilience and safety within our communities, as well as combat loneliness.
“We’re pleased to have Tiffany working her magic, and what she’s achieved so far was evident in the great turn out at the end of year Neighbourhood Support celebration held at Tagalad Reserve in early December.”
The board’s aspirations are achieved through Neighbourhood Support by collating a team of ‘street contacts’; volunteers who act as a liaison between Tiffany and 10-15 of each street contact’s nearest households.
Street contacts can set up an initial street meeting, where Tiffany will show them and their neighbours what Neighbourhood Support is all about.
“They come and listen to my chat, have a cup of tea and a catch up,” says Tiffany.
“It’s great for relationship building as well as resilience planning. Overall, Aucklanders tend to be quite private people, and sometimes we don’t get involved in the community spirit.
“I think we need to change, to involve newcomers and make sure people don’t become isolated.”
A couple of hundred people from the Ōrākei area have joined up already, and agencies such as Civil Defence, Auckland Emergency Management, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), the Police, and the local Community Patrols are on board.
Tiffany updates street contacts on alert levels for potential weather warnings and other emergencies. If it starts to get serious, she will recommend they let their neighbours know.
“In an emergency, neighbourhoods should be resilient and self-reliant for 72 hours to allow civil defence and first responders to focus on life-threatening situations,” she says.
Neighbourhood Support has access to the area’s crime statistics each week. Tiffany sends out regular newsletters with what’s happening in the area which include updates and tips. The content reiterates safety messages, whether it’s about crime or how to be resilient.
Tiffany encourages locals to think about becoming a street contact: “I’ve got 94,000 people I’ve got to connect.”
She says the amount of work required from a street contact is “absolutely up to them.”
“At the least you get the email updates and act in an emergency. If you’d like to be more involved, you can look out for your more vulnerable neighbours, such as checking in on them or making sure their lights go on in the evenings.”
Scott adds: “If we all do our bit and connect with those living around us, especially at this time of year, we will be living in a better community.”
If you’d like to find out more about how you could help, get in touch with Tiffany via email at orakei@neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz.
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