New service to support people facing hardship

/ / COVID-19

Porirua City Council is now part of a new service to help people get access to food and medication. It has been set up to assist people with disabilities, at-risk groups and people without access to their own transport.

The service is intended for those facing hardship and is in addition to other support measures provided by other agencies, such as Work and Income, and community groups like ours. It will deliver help and essential household supplies to the doorstep.

The regional CDEM groups have local helplines people facing hardship can ring. Porirua people can ring the Wellington Region Call Centre on 0800 141 967. This call centre is available between 7:00am–7:00pm and will put you in touch with the services you need.

If you don’t have the essentials you need to get through lockdown (such as food, medication or cleaning supplies), they ask that you should initially try calling a:

  • neighbour
  • family member who lives nearby
  • friend who lives nearby.

You can get in touch with the local helpers’ network we’ve set up in Pukerua Bay by using our ‘Ask For Help’ form and we can get someone to contact you. We can also organise people who can phone you regularly to see whether there is anything you need, or for a friendly chat.

However, if you don’t have these options available to you, or you would prefer to ask someone else, then please call the Wellington Region Call Centre on 0800 141 967.

New service to support people facing hardship Read More »

Looking after your mental wellbeing

/ / COVID-19

Where can I find ideas and information to help me and my family through this difficult time?

Reach out to your usual supports over the phone — family and whānau, friends and workmates. Sharing how we feel and offering support to others is important. 

Sticking to a routine such as having regular mealtimes, bedtimes and exercising really helps. 

If over the following days and weeks you feel you are not coping, it’s important to seek help and professional support. Your family doctor is a good starting point.

For support with grief, anxiety, distress or mental well-being, you can also call or text the ‘Need to talk?’ service on 1737. This service is free, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and gives you the chance to talk it through with a trained counsellor.

There is excellent advice on the government’s Unite Against COVID-19 website on looking after your mental well-being.

Depression.org specific tips on coping with COVID-19
https://depression.org.nz/covid-19/

The Lowdown – for young people
https://thelowdown.co.nz/

Who could I call?

In a crisis

You should contact the mental health crisis teams in this area at
Te Haika 0800 745 477 (operating 24/7).

All the groups listed below have counsellors who will do whatever they can to help.

The Depression Helpline 0800 111 757 or text 4202
The Lowdown Team Free text 5626 or email the team using the link on the website.
Alcoholics Anonymous 0800 229 6757
Alcohol Drug Helpline 0800 787 797
Anxiety Line 0800 2694 389
Healthline 0800 611 116
Lifeline 0800 543 354
Samaritans 0800 726 666
Victim Support 0800 842 846
Youthline 0800 376 633 or text 234

Looking after your mental wellbeing Read More »

Safe shopping

/ / COVID-19

Shopping will become a major preoccupation for all of us over the next month. Here are some tips on shopping safely and smartly.

This information was up to date at 9pm, Wednesday 25 March.

Pukerua Bay store

This is still open daily from 10am – 7pm. They have good stocks of all the basics they normally carry.

There is only one person allowed in the store at a time. They will take cash but prefer eftpos (no credit card).

Duval at the store says he is happy to take orders over the phone and if he has the time will bag them up for people to collect later and pay. He might be able to get some items in for you – just ask. This is for people who are not able to get to the supermarket. Their phone number is 239 9140

Supermarkets

New World Paramata is open 9.00am–7.00pm each day. (Changed from normal hours)

Pack’nSave Porirua is open 7.00am–11.00pm.

Safe shopping recommendations

Nominate a family member to shop – to comply with physical distancing recommendations, and to ensure there is a steady flow of traffic in and out of stores within their ‘one in, one out’ system, they are asking people who shop in person to please shop alone. This is to ensure the number of people in-store at any one time is kept to a minimum.

Contactless payments – they encourage customers to use contactless payments such as PayWave as another way of reducing contact between customers and staff.

Shop online (where available) – they have introduced contactless online shopping delivery for customers who are self-isolating, vulnerable or unwell – customers should let the team know in the comments section when the order is placed. If you are feeling unwell, please do not come to the store to collect your Click & Collect order and to instead arrange a friend or family member to pick up your groceries for you.

New World iShop:

for Apple iOS for Android

Pack your own bags – New World will be doing this as a staff protection measure, but please ask for help if you need assistance to pack your groceries.

#shopnormal – do not stockpile groceries; this is so everyone has a fair shot at buying their grocery essentials. When someone buys five packs of toilet paper, and they only need one, they are taking away from four other people who may have needed it. Some customers might not have the resources to buy up or the ability to visit the store every day. Please buy what you need and be fair to others.

Countdown All Countdown supermarkets are open 9.00am–8.00pm. They have placed a temporary limit of two similar items per customer shopping visit across their store and online shopping service, with the exception of Produce & Serviced Deli. That means you will only be able to buy a maximum of two packs of toilet paper, two packs of mince, two packets of chicken, etc. All deliveries are contactless.

myCountdown:

for Apple iOS for Android

Petrol stations

Service stations and truck stops are considered essential services and will stay open to support New Zealanders. Both Z Energy and BP have smartphone apps you can use to pay for fuel at the pump. You can also order a coffee with them.

Z Energy Z is implementing strict controls to minimise contact with their staff. These include operating a locked door policy and accepting payment through the night window. You will still be able to purchase supplies from the store and these will be passed through the window to you. You will also be able to use Pay at Pump.

Z App:

for Apple iOS for Android

BP Under Level Three and Level Four of the COVID-19 alert system, BP Connect sites will operate under closed-door operations. This means customers are not able to enter the shop, however, they can continue to purchase fuel and shop items as normal. Carwashes are closed. BP truck stops will remain open during this time as per normal.

BPMe:

for Apple iOS for Android

Pharmacies

Mana Pharmacy They will be open all throughout the lockdown. There is still a big demand for prescriptions so there is still a 2-hour delay for urgent prescriptions and if something is not urgent, leave it for another day. Please don’t wait at the pharmacy.

There are strict limits on who is allowed into the pharmacy. If you are waiting to be attended, please maintain the two-metre social distance.

They have received stock of flu vaccines. They will be making appointments for these so that people are not waiting. Please phone them on 04 2330800 to make an appointment. They are vaccinating those over 65 and with eligible conditions.

Safe shopping Read More »

COVID-19 community support

/ / COVID-19, Pukerua Bay Hub

The Pukerua Bay Residents’ Association and Pukerua Bay Hub are working together co-ordinate support within the village for people who will be confined to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you need help, or think you may need help in the future, please:

Notify us that you need help

We have created a network of street groups so we can all support each other and make sure the most vulnerable people have someone who is in contact with them.

We have organised a network of:

  • People who can be a Street Champion in their street to make sure everyone who might need help has been contacted
  • People who can provide assistance to their neighbours

Street champions

They are co-ordinators and contact points for people needing assistance, and people who are offering to help. If you or anyone you know needs some help, you can contact then through our online ‘Ask For Help’ form.

Here are some questions to consider and to ask neighbours:

  • Would you like a daily phone call from a neighbour?
  • Might you need help with urgent shopping and medical supplies?
  • Will you be able to get any medical attention you might need?
  • Do you have other concerns you would like to talk to someone about?
  • Do you have supplies of pet food and have you arranged for dogs to be walked if you become unwell? ( SPCA are reminding us to plan for the care of our pets. Dogs and cats cannot spread or catch this virus)
  • Are you able to do shopping or pick up medical supplies for neighbours? What else can we do to support each other in our neighbourhood?
  • Please make contact with me by phone or email. I will not share contact details with anybody else even in our street. If you are able to offer help, or if you need help, contact me and I will facilitate things.
  • We are not recommending you make any personal contact but communicate by phone or email only.
  • Supermarkets: please register with your supermarket for ordering and delivery of groceries.
  • Pharmacies: we suggest that you arrange for payment by internet banking so people collecting things for you (doorstop delivery) are not involved in payment.

(Thanks to Plimmerton RA for these questions. Feel free to add your own.)

COVID-19 community support Read More »

Litter Survey results

/ / Coastal, Litter Survey

The Pukerua Bay Litter Monitoring Group undertook its first Litter Collection Survey on 8 March. The area we surveyed had previously been surveyed three times in 2019 by other volunteers in the Litter Intelligence project. The results of our survey are logged on the Litter Intelligence website.

We’ll be repeating the survey every 3 months, with the date of the next survey to be advised. This time, 11 local volunteers received training in the litter survey method. We welcome other volunteers, but please be willing to take direction from the Lead Citizen Scientist and follow the survey method.

Key points about the Litter Intelligence project

We repeat the survey in the same place every three months, so that the data can be compared over time. While we clear rubbish off this particular area, the focus is not so much on a beach clean up as on investigating what litter we have found. We categorise the litter and count and weigh it. This part of the survey takes longer than picking up the litter. Our data is added to a nationwide database which can be used to identify problems and trends. Over time, we hope that the litter monitoring community will also be able to come up with solutions to the litter problem.

Sustainable Coastlines provide us with infrastructure, support and equipment, including survey tools, gloves, and litter sacks.

For more information about the Litter Intelligence Project, including ideas about how you can reduce litter in the environment, visit the Litter Intelligence website.

Litter Survey results Read More »

Call for Litter Survey helpers, March 2020

/ / Coastal, Litter Survey, Working Bees

Are you interested in being a part of the Litter Monitoring survey here in Pukerua Bay? This is a Citizen Science project. It’s a bit different from a beach clean up in that we pick up litter in the same area each time, classify it, weigh it or count it and then add the data to the nationwide project. The site is already chosen, and a few surveys have already been run, in June 2019 and December 2019. It’s not difficult terrain, and it is done four times a year. There is training for this project and our first survey will be in early March. See litterintelligence.org for more information, and if you’re keen to participate, please contact Gillian Candler with the form below.

Call for Litter Survey helpers, March 2020 Read More »

Surfers’ Remembrance Unveiling

/ / Event

A new seat by the beach, the Surfers’ & Remembrance Seat, will be unveiled next month, dedicated to Trevor James Douglas and other past surfers from Pukerua Bay. It will be placed at First Point Surfbreak, just back from the foreshore.

10.30 am, Saturday 1st February 2020 (ical)
Pukerua Bay Beach, at the bottom of the goat track (map)
All welcome!

Surf at Pukerua Bay Beach (image via WannaSurf)

There will be refreshments at the RSA afterwards, and a donation box towards ongoing maintenance costs.

David Pepperell thanks the many local businesses, particularly Placemakers Porirua, G&S Civil, Coastal Fasteners, and Big Mac Slabs, the Porirua City Council, as well as the many other individual donors and supporters who have contributed their time, labour and skills to the project.

Surfers’ Remembrance Unveiling Read More »

Surfers’ Remembrance Seat Unveiling

/

A new seat by the beach, the Surfers’ & Remembrance Seat, will be unveiled next month, dedicated to Trevor James Douglas and other past surfers from Pukerua Bay. It will be placed at First Point Surfbreak, just back from the foreshore.

There will be refreshments at the RSA afterwards.

David Pepperell thanks to the many local businesses, particularly Placemakers Porirua, G&S Civil, Coastal Fasteners, and Big Mac Slabs, and other donors and supporters who have contributed their time, labour and skills to the project.

Surfers’ Remembrance Seat Unveiling Read More »