Neighbourhood support soars
Amap of Palmerstonnorth stretches many metres across the wall outside Alison Jarden’s Highbury office.
Coloured lines mark the streets where neighbourhood Support groups exist – pre-covid are red, post-covid are yellow.
‘‘I’ve got hundreds more to put up there,’’ Jarden says as she juggles the spike in residents signing up to the service since lockdown began.
Nationally, Neighbourhood Support saw a huge spike in interest during the lockdown, with enquiries increasing by 138 per cent sincemarch. rebuilding mode
With the surge of new groups, it was more important than ever for the service to keep the momentum going, Neighbourhood Support chief executive Tess Casey said.
‘‘What we’re really keen to make sure we’re doing at the moment is make sure that interest doesn’t taper off.
‘‘We’re not through this thing yet and I think everybody is really aware it’s a fragile situation. I don’t want to go back into alert level 3 or 4 but if we do, those support networks need to be maintained so that they’re still in place.’’
Being visible in communities was key to helping people stay connected, Casey said.
Across Palmerstonnorth, old, unread able neighbourhood Watch signs hang on streets that may have inactive support groups.
Evolving from its former role of reducing criminal activity, Neighbourhood Support was about safe, resilient and connected communities, Casey said. ‘‘Safety means more than just an absence of crime, safety means how you feel where you live on a day-to-day basis,’’ she said.
With Jarden’s map and the help of the local Menzshed, the city’s 20-year-old support signs have slowly been updated with a fresh face for active groups.
Daryl Dean, 57, helps Neighbourhood Support put together the new signage for groups, made from donated materials from Bunnings and a grant from Pub Charities.
‘‘Because of lockdown I haven’t put up very many signs at all,’’ Dean said.
Andwith another 300 signs to erect across the city Jarden hoped peoplewould feel safer knowing there was an active Neighbourhood Support network in their community.