On the 24th of December this year it will be 1,921 days since the first group of earthquake affected community leaders met in Brendon Burns’ office to discuss how we could get better communication happening with the recovery officials. We were a group of about 15 and we came from Avonside, Horseshoe Lake, Dallington, Bexley, Brooklands, Kaiapoi, Riverside and the Inner City, and we also had a couple of helpful politicians whose homes were knackered and who fully understood our plight. Avondale was staying quiet about their damage to protect equity in homes but it wasn’t too long before they joined us too. The floodgates opened after the February quake and we swelled to 40 member groups.
The Canterbury Communities’ Earthquake Recovery Network was established on that evening and it wasn’t long before residents and officials knew the group CanCERN. Five years later, and the job, although not complete, is finishing for CanCERN. At the end of this year we will wind up the organisation and put some energy into capturing and sharing the many important lessons we have learned. It is also likely that our very successful Breakthrough service will continue with the same people leading it but not under the CanCERN banner.
There are many, many people who we need to thank before we leave and we hope to get through the list in upcoming newsletters. However, there is one small group of people that need a big mention that won’t get lost in too many words, so we want to honour them first. This small group has given so much and asked for nothing in return and they are our amazing funders.
We have had great support over the years from different organisations – Sharp NZ, GAMA Foundation, the Rata Foundation (formerly Canterbury Community Trust), Rotary, Community Energy Action and CERA who financially contributed to projects such as In the Know and Let’s Find & Fix. Their contribution to CanCERN was driven by a desire to see the resident voice represented in recovery. On behalf of board, staff, members, and the wider community, we thank them for their generous contribution and commitment to community-led recovery.
We have also been incredibly lucky to have long-term core funding from the Tindall Foundation, the Todd Foundation and the Hugh Green Foundation. We honestly cannot say enough about these family foundations who have over the last five years collectively donated more than $1 million to CanCERN. They have demonstrated incredible trust in our organisation and an absolute commitment to the affected people of Canterbury. Each has provided the staff of CanCERN with amazing support which goes well beyond just money.
We have to tip our hats to a couple of heroes from within the Tindall and Todd Foundations.
Dave Richards from the Tindall Foundation has been our main man and he has challenged, nurtured, taught, and most of all, encouraged us. Dave had a belief in the staff and what CanCERN was trying to achieve and made us better for his involvement. He’s a top bloke and we thank him from the bottom of our hearts. His simple reliance on a Nokia mobile phone from the 90s is testament to the values of the Tindall Foundation because meeting face to face always superseded phone calls and emails. Like Dave, Stephen Tindall and his family made time to meet and genuinely connect with us. The importance of Tindall’s core value of relationship building is something that all funders should not overlook.
Kate Frykberg, formerly of the Todd Foundation was another great friend to CanCERN. Kate’s passion for making funding more responsive to community need is something we fully supported and appreciated. Kate encouraged us to be true to what we were trying to achieve, to have faith in our intuition, and to look after ourselves in the process. We want to say a massive thanks to Kate for being such a sincere believer in us and the importance of our work.
The role of philanthropy in the response and recovery has been astounding and much of it goes unnoticed. Without the generous support of many funding organisations, the community would really have been on its own. So from us at CanCERN and on behalf of all of our members who have benefited from the generosity of our funders, we say thanks.
Red zoners get to have a say
After a very long time, red zoners have finally been given a chance to share some information about how it was for them. CERA, through research company Neilsen are currently trying to contact all who were red zoned and accepted the offer to invite them to take part in their survey.
Invitations went out via email on 14 October but so far we haven’t heard of too many people who have actually received it. CERA is using their database but email addresses like street addresses have changed over the last four and a half years so we need word of mouth to get the message out there.
CanCERN is pretty annoyed at the promotion approach CERA has chosen to get the survey out which is limited to the use of their database and the hope that a few community leaders still have some old red zone contacts. Considering the massive CERA communications budget and the glossy stories that get delivered into letterboxes monthly, they didn’t feel that spending some of that money to try to get the word out through other channels was worth it.
The survey period is very short and people only have until 15 November to respond to the survey so if you know of someone who would like to know about this, please pass the message on now. If you need a copy you can participate by ringing Neilsen on 0800 400 402.
Lawrence Roberts, ex Avonside red zoner has done a lot of thinking about how why this survey is so important and how some may feel about actually doing it. In his blog Survey of former residential red zone owners who accepted Crown offers, Lawrence writes,
'If you are cautious about taking part in case it resurrects stresses and demons best left buried, Neilsen offer the following advice in the first part of the survey:
We hope that you will find the survey experience positive, but we understand that many former property owners may find the issues it covers difficult and taking part may bring back mixed emotions. If you find this to be the case we encourage you to consider calling the Canterbury Support Line on 0800 777 846 or to contact a trusted friend. You are free to stop the survey at any time.
Should your caution be motivated by cynicism or mistrust you won’t be alone. Never the less give thought to at least looking at the survey. If you don’t have your say, your views won’t be in the mix.'
A few community leaders including Lawrence and CanCERN were invited to attend a workshop as Neilsen was putting the survey together. The advice from all leaders was definitely informed by the experiences of those of us who either worked with red zoners or were red zoned and in many cases, both. Some changes were made but true to the top down recovery we have had to date, some decisions of how the survey has been constructed and the questions asked or not asked have been led very much by the needs of both CERA or researchers. However, there is enough in it to make the survey worth considering and at the moment, it’s as good as it gets. Lawrence explains,
'The survey is structured in an unusual way that may, or may not, fully and accurately capture the issues and experiences of Red Zoners. There are two parts for some participants to fill in, and one for others. Each part has a wide range of questions. It may be you will find the questions don’t address issues that were, or still are, important. This can be saved up for the final part of the survey where there is (at least in the draft I have seen courtesy of Neilsen and CERA) an open-ended question:
Finally, please add any comments or suggestions you would like to make, particularly any suggestions about what more could be done to help people in the future if their properties are in the worst affected areas following a natural disaster.
Take the opportunity to say what you have to say, there may never be another chance. Were there stresses that the survey overlooks (e.g. being in the limbo of an Orange zoning, having to relocate while the Ministry of Education was restructuring schools)? Were there services that just weren’t up to it and so you didn’t use them (e.g. a medical centre or other health service you thought incapable or unwilling to give the help needed?) Anything else? Mention it now; include the things that worked, as knowing what worked is as important as knowing what failed.'
As per usual the internet has won the day and there is no hard copy option available so if you know of someone who needs access to a computer or support to complete the form, please give them a hand or send them to the In the Know Hub at Eastgate Mall. The wonderful community hosts there can help.
The following is CERA’s release intended for those who haven’t been contacted about the survey:
CERA is conducting a voluntary, confidential online survey of former residential red zone property owners who accepted Crown offers for purchase of their properties. The survey is intended to help the Government, local authorities and communities in responding to any similar situations that might come up in the future. CERA has contacted former property owners (or people who acted on their behalf) directly, but some people’s contact details have changed in the past couple of years. If you’re a former residential red zone property owner who accepted a Crown offer for purchase of your property and haven’t received your invitation to participate, please contact Nielsen, the independent research company carrying out the survey on CERA’s behalf: 0800 400 402.
Categories Cancern
Breakthrough – a really good overview of what we do
Breakthrough is a free service we run with Southern Response customers whose claims are not making the kind of progress they need. There are a whole raft of reasons why progress can be slow but with some additional support many homeowners are able to progress in a way that leaves them feeling more confident.
It’s a facilitation service rather than an advocacy service. We don’t negotiate for a specific claim outcome because we’re not lawyers, quantity surveyors or engineers. We are, however, able to facilitate a constructive discussion where homeowners can have the conversation they need to have with the right people at Southern Response. There is one collective aim – to understand where the claim is at from the homeowner’s perspective and what needs to happen for the claim to progress to the next stage.
Who can it help?
Absolutely anyone who is a Southern Response customer. Because Breakthrough is about trying to get things progressing where they have slowed down you can be anywhere in the process from having a first site meeting to being in the midst of repairs or a rebuild. Breakthrough has helped homeowners who:
- thought the only option left was to head to court,
- had stopped talking to Southern Response,
- thought they should wait for others to get through first,
- had just gone over cap after a long wait with EQC
How does it work?
STEP 1 – GET INVOLVED
There are a few ways to get involved:
- You reach out to us – Anyone who is a Southern Response customer can give us a call and ask us to facilitate a discussion.
- We reach out to you – Southern Response has asked us to contact customers whose claims are progressing slower than they expected, so we may phone or email you.
- You are referred – Another earthquake support service or your claims specialist may refer you if they think we can be of help.
STEP 2 – MEET WITH US
This meeting is about us listening to you. Through listening, we can help you figure out what you really want to say, where you think you are stuck, and how you think progress can be made. This meeting normally takes an hour or two and happens in a place where you are comfortable.
We write up notes based on our conversation which also form the agenda for the facilitated meeting with Southern Response. You check they are accurate and make any changes you want to. If you want to go ahead with a facilitated meeting we ask you to sign a consent form so that we can send the notes off to the Southern Response manager we think is best to help with your claim. Click here to see what the ‘homeowner meeting’ notes look like.
STEP 3 – SOUTHERN RESPONSE DOES THEIR HOMEWORK
Once Southern Response have read the notes we give them a week to gather everything they need to make sure they can answer your questions and address your concerns. Before the facilitated meeting we check the staff are ready and let you know that everything is on track for a productive meeting.
STEP 4 – WE FACILITATE A MEETING
We have this meeting where you feel most comfortable, e.g. the CanCERN office, your home, or another neutral meeting space. We work hard to set the right tone and reinforce that the meeting is led by the homeowner’s needs. Sometimes people are really nervous about the meeting and expect it to be a battle but most walk out feeling like it was one of the best meetings they’ve had in the last five years.
At the end of every facilitated meeting we write up another set of notes that include what actions were agreed to, who is responsible to ensure they happen, and how long they will take to be completed. Click here to see what the ‘facilitated meeting’ notes look like.
STEP 5 – WE MAKE SURE THERE’S PROGRESS
Part of our role is to check up and make sure everyone is on track to complete actions on time. If there are delays, we figure out why they have occurred and make sure everything is communicated back to homeowner. Further down the track if you need Breakthrough again, we will help.
What does it cost?
Breakthrough is completely free for the homeowner. Southern Response is independently contracting us to run the service. This type of independent contract is fairly standard for facilitation industry-wide. You could liken it to the way Southern Response sometimes pays for the cost of an independent quantity surveyor’s report, for example.
What now?
Email, call or text CanCERN’s Breakthrough Project Manager:
Marcus Irvine
027 304 8092
marcus@cancern.org.nz
Categories Cancern
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Home of the Taniwha – The Big Picture (guest post)
Eyes East is a collaboration of three parties – Eastern Vision, CTV and Rebuild Christchurch to inform, educate and engage communities about ideas for the recovery of the east Christchurch flat land suburbs.
In the seventh and final episode of Eyes East which screened on CTV on 5 November, all the community values and aspirations for the flatlands of east Christchurch are viewed as an over-arching integrated whole. The challenges, future entities, processes and opportunities for the regeneration of the east are explored. This episode and the rest of the series can be viewed on demand on www.rebuildchristchurch.co.nz.
Guest post – Evan Smith. View the original on Rebuild Christchurch here.
The red zone lands mean so many different things to so many different people.
Our trauma, our angst, our home. Our backyard, our neighbourhood. Our opportunity, safety buffer, hope, sanctuary.
Our vision, our river park.
Our one chance to get it right: our stunning legacy for future generations…
This is no more so than in the eastern flatland suburbs of Christchurch.
Like a slithery Taniwha snaking through the heart of the east, the memory, the emotion, and the promise lie in wait – only occasionally stirring.
But woe betide anyone who seeks to poke it with a stick, or grasp it with both hands and oust it from its place of rest. The beast can spring into life with a ferocity that could devour the seemingly all-powerful.
We got a faint glimpse of that this week.
“The Government hopes to recoup money from Christchurch’s red zone by leasing or selling land for private sector development,” said an article in The Press on Tuesday. The Government was considering “options that offered a ‘financial return for the Crown’ for the future use of the land”.
There was an immediate backlash: accusations of government – and council – subterfuge, lies, collusion with insurers and money men. Loss adjustment! Land-banking! Exploitation! Deceit!
The voluntary offer, which was far from voluntary for most, the ‘fair deal’ that made losers out of many, the lack of first right of refusal, the plight of those who stuck it out and haven’t moved on for whatever reason, the lack of transparency or clear timeframes for decision-making, but above all the erosion of trust and confidence in political and commercial process all erupted abruptly.
“It would break my heart if houses were to ever be built back where our beloved … family home was red-zoned in Dallington…”
“A massive sit-in on any land they try to build on … as they have conned people out of their homes…”
All these sentiments were stirred up when the Taniwha writhed for just a moment.
If there is any hint that anybody, whether public or private, profits – or is perceived to profit – out of the misery of those who were red-zoned or left behind in the adjacent TC3 zones, then the Taniwha will rise with a vengeance that time will not dull.
Yes, there may be need for new and affordable housing in the east that can help offset costs, but let’s be innovative in how that may be achieved without encroaching again on lands best left alone.
Leave the Taniwha in peace. Let the lands return to what they want to be: a green and blue floodplain space that nurtures and protects the adjoining communities – and the wellbeing of the entire city.
Evan Smith
Ex-Red Zoner
Categories Cancern