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What is all the fuss about Buzz?

Water? Check. Food for three days? Tick. Charged batteries for the torch? Done. Had a chat to the neighbours?
Kaumatua Days break social isolation for many

Kaumātua Days breaking social isolation

Looking around the Woolston Club hall packed with hundreds of elderly Cantabrians, it’s inspiring to think the Kaumātua Days started with just 30 people four years ago.
Kathryn Jackson and family in Amberley

A new life in Amberley

It was to be their own slice of paradise. When Kathryn Jackson and husband Andy bought their Brooklands home just north of Christchurch, they hadn’t just bought a home, they had bought into a neighbourhood.
Bounce

Bouncing forward

On a cold, sunny Wednesday morning, the University of Canterbury hall is buzzing with students attending a Winter Wellness event. Amidst cold house improvement tips and blood pressure measurements, the Bounce.org.nz stall stands out. 
The Creative Stations Team, Kim Morton (left) and Alexia Martin (right) from Ōtautahi Creative Spaces and Kirsten Smith from the Aranui Library

The art of making social connections

People who are socially connected recover faster and more effectively from disasters. However, some people with mental health issues might struggle to make those social connections. How can we help those people, so they are better prepared when there is an emergency?
Paul Shamy, CEO of Stopping Violence Services in Christchurch

Over the moon they are in the cloud

As part of a project to make Christchurch more resilient, Red Cross is helping community organisations be better prepared for disasters. One of these organisations is Stopping Violence Services, which works to rehabilitate perpetrators of domestic violence.
A Red Cross volunteer comforts an affected householder

Plasters for the mind

When a disaster strikes, physical needs such as clean water, food and medical care often get the most attention; but in an emergency, those practical needs are not the only things that need to be taken care of.