Whanganui team efforts net good feedback for recovery strategies

Members of the Integrated Recovery Team, from left, Lauren Tamehana, Louise Allsopp, Steve Carey and Ramari Te Uamairangi visit Ruapehu Whanau Trust. Photo / Supplied

The Integrated Recovery Team (IRT), a collective of organisations working on recovery after the Covid-19 lockdown, is asking the community what projects and actions will help the Whanganui region move forward.

Since the recovery process began in mid-May, the IRT has had face-to-face hui with about 40 community groups in the region.

A survey also asked Whanganui people what has worked well during the crisis response, what could have been done better, and what their lockdown experience was like. More than 350 people responded.

Whanganui and Partners also surveyed the business community about support and initiatives which could make a difference to economic recovery and sustainability in the future, with 87 responses.

Recovery manager Charlotte Almond said community engagement would assess social, health and economic needs, and find out more about community plans and projects already in place and how the IRT could support them.

"We are visiting a diversity of groups including those which support children and whānau, Māori and Pacifica, environment, mental health and wellbeing, neighbourhood and community development, rural, and more. Our visits are not limited to Whanganui district, but also our communities in Ruapehu, Waimarino, and Rangitikei.

"Feedback from the hui, community surveys and our engagement at the Whanganui River Markets was varied but generally people want a healthier work-life balance, a focus on wellness, looking after the environment and sustainability, more collaboration between agencies, increased connection in our communities, and support for vulnerable people," Almond said.

Feedback will be collated and presented later his month. The IRT will then look at the next steps for how organisations may be able to work collaboratively.

Almond said the IRT, as well as most community groups, were already striving to work collaboratively but the pandemic helped relationships develop further.

"Often positive things come out of a crisis and, in this case, we are getting the most out of existing relationships by working together on collective community plans developed for the good of all communities."

For more information about the Integrated Recovery Team, visit www.wdhb.org.nz/united-in-recovery/