More than 330 people so far from across the region now have an oversight of how emergency welfare structures and processes connect and support communities.

This is thanks to the efforts of Tairāwhiti Emergency Management Office’s (TEMO) Group Welfare Manager, Dallas Haynes.

It’s been a key focus for her over the past year which has required often spending weekends and evenings training people in the community civil defence teams and building essential relationships to develop a system that ensures people don’t fall through the cracks when areas are affected by emergencies.

Ms Haynes says things have certainly changed since Cyclone Gabrielle.

“Our welfare response is now far more tailored and structured with a focus on how we identify and prioritise families or individuals who need help. The 330 people who have connected with the training now have a good grasp of what welfare means in the Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) context and have gained skills in undertaking essential needs assessments that make the system far more connected and responsive to needs.

“We want to reduce the risk of duplication so that those who need assistance get the right help. When thousands of people are impacted by an emergency event we need to have a slick system that can prioritise support as some whānau will need help more than others.”

“The partnership between TEMO and the community is a key component. It is the community who provide the boots on the ground – they know who is in their community and who is at risk or vulnerable. Engagement with our communities is vital and we have to partner with them and grow trust.”

When Ms Haynes started in her role two years ago there was a welfare system in place but she saw quickly that it needed a switch up.

“The agencies that were mandated in the national plan to provide welfare services didn’t understand what their function was.”

TEMO is responsible for three of the nine welfare functions; household goods and services, needs assessment and emergency accommodation. The remainder sit with government agencies.

Ms Haynes is also chair of the Welfare Coordination Group which is made up of a number of agencies and providers who coordinate and deliver welfare support during times of emergency.

“I am very much a system and process-orientated person so I want a framework that everyone can understand and work from.”

The training sessions are conducted at the TEMO Emergency Coordination System as well as out in the community. She has been to a number of communities across the region with more planned in the future. Along with the welfare training component, TEMO integrates aspects of readiness and operations.

“We want people to open doors to us but it has to be a two-way thing. We are not just here to build relationships, but to also maintain them. It is not good enough to only have a number in your phone – you have to engage.”

There are 16 CDEM Groups across New Zealand but Tairāwhiti is the only one delivering tailored welfare training to connect communities into the welfare system.

“Our job is to develop and enhance what our communities have been doing for years as well as getting new community groups trained and connected. The targeted training with our civil defence groups, whether they are in remote areas or builtup populations, is a game changer.”

“What we see now is a system that is understood, responsive and supportive. We all need one another and no one group or entity can do this stuff on their own.”

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