Community briefings, Monday March 7

Community earthquake info briefings will be held today and on Wednesday for some of the worst quake-affected areas in Christchurch. They will provide essential information and a limited opportunity for questions.

Location	Time	For
McCormacks Bay Reserve (Eastern side of reserve)	12.30 pm	Residents of Mt Pleasant, Redcliffs, St Andrews Hill, Balmoral Hill, Moncks Spur
Sumner School Grounds (Colenso Street)	3 pm	Residents of Moncks Bay, Clifton, Richmond Hill, Sumner, Scarborough.
Lyttelton Main School playing field (The Grassy)	5.30 pm	Residents of Lyttelton and harbour settlements through to Rapaki

Read more information and details of the Wednesday meetings on the Canterbury Earthquake website.

After the disaster: coping with stress

Here are some websites that may help you cope with the stress of the recent earthquakes. If you need urgent assistance, contact HealthLine (24 hours) 0800 611 116 or the Earthquake Government Helpline 0800 779 997.

Wellbeing support services

Links from canterburyearthquake.govt.nz.

Coping with stress factsheets

From the Ministry of Health.

After Disaster: Responding to the psychological consequences of disasters for children and young people

By Peter Stanley and Sarah Williams. This free download has been made available by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. 1.4 MB PDF.

Wellbeing and supporting students

From the Ministry of Education.

Read health information form the Canterbury District Health Board

From the Canterbury Earthquake website.

Community briefings held today, Sunday March 6

Community earthquake info briefings will be held on Sunday 6 March and Monday 7 March 2011 for some of the worst quake-affected areas in Christchurch. They will provide essential information and a limited opportunity for questions.

Briefing locations for today are:

• Cuthberts Green, Pages Road (beside softball fields) 10 am
  Residents of Avondale, Avonside, Aranui, Dallington, Linwood and Wainoni
• Waltham Park, Waltham Rd 12 Noon
  Residents of St Martins, Opawa, Murray Aynsley and Beckenham
• Somerfield Park, off Woodard Terrace 2 pm
  Residents of Somerfield, Cashmere and Spreydon.
• South Hagley Park Cricket Ground, Riccarton Ave 4 pm
  Residents and business/building owners in the Christchurch CBD
• Cuthberts Green, Pages Road (beside softball fields) 6 pm (updated time)
  Residents of Avondale, Avonside, Aranui, Dallington, Linwood and Wainoni

Source: Civil Defence website

More information is also available on the Christchurch City Council and Ecan combined site, canterburyearthquake.org.nz

Emergency welfare grants now available

If you have had to leave your house due to structural damage, you may be eligible for an emergency grant  from the NZ Red Cross Canterbury Earthquake Commission.

These grants are intended to provide one-off, initial assistance. To find out more about the grants process use the links below or contact the Government Helpline (0800 779 997).

Find out if you’re eligible:

• Canterbury Earthquake Emergency Grants Fact Sheet [PDF 660KB]
• Red Cross Canterbury Earthquake Questions And Answers [PDF 20KB]
• Emergency Grant Application Form [PDF 200KB]

If you need help, or know someone who does, encourage them to apply. Read more earthquake recovery information on the library website.

Earthquake recovery

We’ve just published a page linking to the essential websites and information for the earthquake recovery.

It’ll connect you with information on welfare, insurance, buildings, businesses, civil defence and all the tools to help you get through it.

Recovery assistance for businesses

Recover Canterbury – a new website for earthquake-hit businesses – is great source of practical  information in this time of need.

From getting financial and staff support and government assistance, to finding new, temporary premises, Recover Canterbury provides useful answers to your immediate questions, to help businesses get up and running again.

There is information for Christchurch, Waimakariri and Selwyn businesses. The site also offers a helpline – 0800 505 096.