Fire and Emergency creates connection with Neighbourhood Support

Fire and Emergency has today signed a Relationship Agreement with Neighbourhood Support, a national network of 69 community organisations, supporting 220,000 households across New Zealand.

“Much like us, Neighbourhood Support is an organisation focused on building safe and resilient communities. So developing a partnership with them seemed like a natural fit,” says Steve Turek National Manager Community Readiness and Recovery.

The signing of the agreement took place ahead of Neighbourhood Support’s AGM and was signed by Fire and Emergency Chief Executive Rhys Jones and Neighbourhood Support’s Board Chair Louise Grevel.

Louise shared her own story as a member of the Waitakere Volunteer Fire Brigade, connecting her personally to the work of Fire and Emergency. She shared that community connectedness was at the heart of her reason for joining the brigade.

Rhys says, “The changes we’re seeing in the environment and in our communities, means the work of Neighbourhood Support is becoming even more important than ever. Neighbourhood Support continues to have a crucial role in preparing communities to deal with emergencies and natural disasters, so having the opportunity to work more closely together is invaluable.

“We often turn to those around us in times of crisis and need. Strong and resilient communities can stand and respond to emergencies together as well as help each other to recover from emergencies faster. A great example of this can be seen in the recent Lake Ōhau fire where residents knocked on doors to wake their neighbours to evacuate their homes. They are the real heroes of this incident and demonstrate the absolute importance of community connection,” says Rhys.

The Relationship Agreement itself has been developed by National Manager Community Readiness and Recovery, Steve Turek. His team along with the Communications and Engagement team will work closely with Neighbourhood Support to develop a detailed work programme.

“We will look to draw on Neighbourhood Support’s resources, and vice versa, to find new ways of working with communities to deliver better support and outcomes across NZ. We are confident that the signing of this Relationship Agreement will help create stronger connections between our two organisations,” says Steve.

To find out more about Neighbourhood Support, visit www.neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz(external link).