Better quality of life for most Cantabrians

More Cantabrians rate their quality of life highly but young people are feeling lonelier than ever, according to new data.

Cantabrians’ quality of life rating is at its highest level since

2012, with more than 86 per cent of people rating it positively. In

2012, just 15 per ent of Canterbury residents said their quality of life was high.

The new data was recorded in the Canterbury Wellbeing Index released by the Canterbury District Health Board yesterday.

This year, 2649 people across Christchurch and greater Canterbury were surveyed.

Survey results showed loneliness among young people remained a key area of concern, Greater Christchurch Psychosocial Governance Group chairwoman Evon Currie said.

About 15 per cent of people aged 18-24 reported feeling lonely and isolated for most of this year, compared to 6 per cent of the adult population. ess than 2 per cent of people aged between 65-74 reported feeling lonely.

Sixteen percent of the same

18-24 age group also said they would find it difficult to talk to someone if they were feeling down – the highest proportion of all the age groups.

Police statistics released in June showed 4369 attempted suicides in Canterbury were reported last year, up 59 per cent from 2015.

In August, the Chief Coroner released provisional statistics showing Canterbury had the second highest number of suspected suicides last year, with 74, down from 87 the previous year.

Mental Health Advocacy and Peer Support (MHAPS) service director Fiona Howard said at the time the figures reflected what those working in the mental health sector in the city had experienced since the Canterbury earthquakes.

‘‘We’re a population under stress . . . our earthquake sequences were not the normal one-off pattern, we had these ongoing repeated shocks for years, then we had the Kaiko¯ ura earthquake, then we had the Port Hills (fires) and then the mosque shootings.’’

As a society we all need to step up and ensure we are there for each other.

Evon Currie

Greater Christchurch Psychosocial Governance Group chairwoman

Currie said ways to address loneliness among young people needed to be explored.

‘‘Someone who is lonely, and who doesn’t feel there is anyone they can talk to, is vulnerable.

‘‘As a society we all need to step up and ensure we are there for each other and no one falls through the cracks.’’

The index collates data from a range of sources across Canterbury and national government and nongovernment agencies.