Marlborough Recovery Update #24, Friday 7 April 2023

Lance Burdett on dealing with stress

Learning how to deal with feeling overwhelmed and improving personal resilience are topics Lance Burdett will cover at his Rai Valley talk on 11 May.

The former policeman is a popular speaker around the country and will talk about the impacts of our changing world and how to adapt to them. The $10 event starts at 11.00 am and runs through until 3.00 pm and includes lunch, tea and coffee.

Following a successful career in construction, Lance Burdett spent 22 years in the police, 13 as a crisis negotiator, having trained in New Zealand, Australia, England, and the United States with the elite units of police, prisons, emergency services, the military, and the FBI. He is qualified as a personal protection officer and was principal security officer at the London Olympics.

Lance will talk about dealing with heightened emotions, how to reduce unwanted feelings and teach ways of reacting in various situations. Additionally, he will explain how to motivate and energise yourself across the day and how to switch off at the end and have a restful sleep.

“Personal resilience is the ability to cope with life’s challenges – for some problems are seen as a terrible challenge while for others the same situation is simply challenging,” he said. “This is due to many factors including biological, familial, environmental and personal.”

Human brains are hard wired to seek out negative things as a way of protecting from danger – linked to the flight or fight response.

“We can control and overcome this natural tendency through the combination of physiological and psychological actions and can change out thought pattens and behaviour,” Lance said. “Negative emotions put us into a state of alertness, and we breathe in, positive emotions calm us and we breath out. Understanding what underlies the outward emotion display enables us to de-escalate and fully engage – resulting in a stronger, more effective and highly motivated person.”

Lance is being brought to Marlborough in a joint collaboration with Marlborough District Council, Marlborough Lines and the Health and Safety Forum.

Lance is being brought to Marlborough in a joint collaboration with Marlborough District Council, Marlborough Lines and the Health and Safety Forum.

All registrations to this event go into a lucky draw to win a signed copy of Lance’s book ‘Dark side of the Brain, Adapting to Adversity.’ For more details and to register go to the Humantix website (details below) or email recovery@marlborough.govt.nz

Go to the Lance Burdett event on the Humanitix website

Farewell from Charlotte

Charlotte Wood would like to thank everyone she has dealt with during her time as recovery navigator, a role she is now leaving.

Since starting in September 2022, as the devastation of the August flooding was being realised, she has worked with residents of many Marlborough communities impacted by the weather event. “It’s been my pleasure and privilege to help people access the support they’ve needed,” she said.

Charlotte is taking up a new position with Red Cross. “I’m very excited to have been appointed as Pathways to Employment Manager, helping former refugees in their personal journeys into employment.”

Marlborough residents can be assured that support will continue to be available during their ongoing social recovery journeys. Recovery navigator Jess Donaldson can be contacted on 027 459 0377 and via the recovery@marlborough.govt.nz email.

Mayoral Relief Fund update

The Mayoral Relief Fund, established following the August 2022 flood event, has now closed.

Funds were provided by Government contribution, the Rata Foundation, Talley’s and personal donations and starting fund balance was $269,420 with an additional $40,000 coming from MPI.

A committee was created with iwi representation and four community representatives familiar with the affected areas to consider applications and distribute funds.

Council’s Community Partnerships Advisor Jodie Griffiths said the feedback and response from families and communities in impacted areas was overwhelmingly positive.

“People said it was a huge help during an extremely stressful time,” she said. “The funds which enable community activities and support, were well received, and brought communities together.”

Funds were distributed to 64 families, 11 farmers and beekeepers (MPI allocations), three resident association combined applications and 27 contributions to increased costs to families affected by road repairs.

There were also multiple grants given for community activities including enabling travel for Waitaria Bay School children and for water transport subsides.

Recovery navigators reaching out

The Recovery Navigators are currently contacting placarded property owners to offer support or a listening ear.

“We appreciate that both the insurance process and fixing up your property is a long and tricky process,” Jess Donaldson said. “We’re here to support you and your whānau along the journey and connect you to relevant people.”

Even those property owners who do not have a placarded property but are dealing with the complexities of insurance or property repairs and need support are also encouraged to make contact. Email recovery@marlborough.govt.nz or Ph 027 459 0377 to speak to Jess Donaldson.

Wellbeing clinic well attended

Eighteen people went to the ABC to Wellbeing workshop at Picton last month.

Course facilitator Patrick Sherratt from Innervate described the day as ”great” saying those who attended found it very useful.

“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to present and meet a great bunch of people,” he said.

The course was designed to help those who had experienced loss, faced challenge or undergone change in their lives and it proved helpful to many of those in the room.

Future workshops are being planned in Marlborough in June and October. Early expressions of interest can be sent to recovery@marlborough.govt.nz

Calendar

Thursday 11 May 11am Millers Rest Rai Valley. A community event with former police crisis negotiator and motivator Lance Burdett. Further details to come.

Entry is $10 which includes lunch, tea and coffee. For registrations go to Humanitix's website:

Go to the Lance Burdett event on Humanitix