The list below includes ethnic service providers which are working to support communities affected by the Auckland flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle.

Reach out to them if you or your family need support.

Auckland

Aotearoa Latin American Community 

Auckland Local Council MapAotearoa Latin American Community (ALAC) is a social services provider that supports migrant and refugees, mainly from Latin America, throughout their settlement process in New Zealand. Its multi-disciplinary staff provides holistic attention to clients’ needs through intervention tasks on a case-by-case basis; and, prevention/education workshops concerning domestic violence, community capacity building, positive parenting skills, labour exploitation, etc. 

ALAC can support Latin American community members affected by the recent severe weather events with psychosocial support, material assistance, and access to government services. 

Aotearoa Ethnic Communities Trust NZ

Aotearoa Ethnic Communities Trust NZ (AECT) is supporting individuals and whānau impacted by the recent flooding and/or Cyclone Gabrielle.  If you need food assistance, please go to the AECT website and complete the food parcel application form and one of our staff will get in touch with you.

Arasan New Zealand Trust 

Arasan strives to connect ethnic communities in Aotearoa New Zealand, and aims to facilitate friendship, understanding and harmony between communities.  

Arasan is supporting those impacted by the floods/Cyclone Gabrielle in Auckland. They have on-the-ground volunteers and are distributing grocery packs, available for affected families in need. Book a grocery pack.

Asian Family Services 

Asian Family Services was established in 1998 to provide counselling, public health education, social services, and support for all Asians in New Zealand. We provide nationwide confidential and comprehensive services. We offer services in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, and Hindi. Our Asian Helpline 0800 862 342 runs from 9am-8pm Monday to Friday. 

The Asian Network Inc

The Asian Network Inc. (TANI) is a pan-Asian community-based organisation, committed to working together with ethnic communities including Asian migrants and former refugees, to help them experience a better quality of life & wellbeing in New Zealand. Through a variety of programmes, activities and information events, TANI assists members of Asian communities live more independently and build confidence in accessing various health & wellbeing services. 

Belong Aotearoa

If you or someone you know is self-isolating, has been impacted by COVID or the January/February 2023 Flooding and Cyclone, you can get support from us using our Community Connectors service.

We at Belong Aotearoa are one of many providing a range of support, responding to both the immediate and emergency needs, and providing opportunities to longer term solutions to address challenges communities are experiencing.

The support we have available include:

  1. Accessing Food support (different options for dietary requirements, ready-made meal(s), food parcels feeding an average of 4 people for approximately 1 week)
  2. Accessing Essential Needs (nappies, personal care/hygiene products cleaning supplies etc.)
  3. Health Support (e.g., collection of medications, medicines e.g., Panadol, cough syrup)
  4. Financial hardship support enquiries (considered on a case-by-case basis)
  5. Employment support (e.g., connecting to a work broker, to help secure employment)
  6. Acquiring household goods, whiteware and/or furniture
  7. Check-ins via phone calls/messages during your support period and occasionally after
  8. Mental health and wellbeing support
  9. Advocacy

Contact

Bhartiya Samaj Chartiable Trust 

Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust is a not-for-profit organisation serving the community since 1995. They offer a wide range of services through their Senior Citizens Wing, Children & Youth Wing, New Migrants Support Wing and Social Services Wing. They have their branches in Auckland, Queenstown, Sydney and Wellington. 

Through the Auckland flooding and Gabrielle Cyclone have offered support to the impacted communities through providing food, groceries, and support with prescriptions and psychosocial support. They have dedicated volunteers to provide ongoing support and their contact details are promoted through their Facebook pages for communities to access.  

CNSST 

CNSST Foundation (hereafter CNSST), over the past days, have received community inquiries seeking support and information in response to the Flood-related local emergencies. As the storm continues, on 29th January 2023, CNSST has officially launched “Flood Response”- CNSST Emergency Service in aim of empowering the influenced families to go through the disaster with the culturally and linguistically appropriate information and essential response services. CNSST offers a Community Connection Service Discretionary fund to all community members that are impacted by the Flood, regardless of people’s visa status are entitled to this support. They also have multi-lingual support services for Greek, Mongolian, Chinese, Korean, Malay, Hokkien and Hakka speaking families. 

The Fatimah Foundation 

The Fatimah Foundation is the only Ethnic Service Provider supporting flood affected families at the Mangere Welfare Centre. They provide support with 9 languages, cultural and faith-based manaaki. They have mobilised the South and East Auckland community to donate towels, clothes, cleaning products and up to100 halal meals per day. The Fatima Foundation website has a great resource page specifically around flood support. If you are an ethnic community member living in South Auckland and require support, please contact us. 

Supreme Sikh Society of New Zealand 

Every day they provide 1000 to 1500 food parcels, including freshly cooked hot meals, from their Sikh Gurdwara at Takanini 2112, Auckland. They also provide 300 to 500 food parcels daily to the North Shore Gurdwara and New Lynn Gurdwara in West Auckland. The food parcels are generally adequate for a family of 4 for 3 days. They also help with necessities that are required daily such as nappies, toilet paper, bedsheets, blankets, and emergency shelter. They work with 32 organisations who they support with necessities as required. They believe that being New Zealanders, they serve the wider whanau regardless of their caste, creed, or religion. They also have been offered great support from their list of stakeholders including Food Network, South Auckland communities, businesses and growers, and the community at large. 

Waitakere Indian Association 

The Waitakere Indian Association (WIA) provides a platform for the Indian community to promote events that allow the sharing of Indian culture and traditions. 

Their team of volunteers have been working hard to prepare hot meals for their community everyday since the Auckland flooding, with 150 hot meals cooked daily by their volunteers. They have prepared over 3500 meals, with donations from their local shops and individuals from Silverdale to Pukekohe.  

 

Waikato

Aotearoa Latin American Community 

Aotearoa Latin American Community (ALAC) is a social services provider that supports migrant and refugees, mainly from Latin America, throughout their settlement process in New Zealand. Its multi-disciplinary staff provides holistic attention to clients’ needs through intervention tasks on a case-by-case basis; and, prevention/education workshops concerning domestic violence, community capacity building, positive parenting skills, labour exploitation, etc. 

ALAC can support Latin American community members affected by the recent severe weather events with psychosocial support, material assistance, and access to government services. 

Diversity Counselling New Zealand

Diversity Counselling New Zealand (DCNZ) offers counselling and psychology services for migrants and former refugees since its establishment in 2013 by ethnic people for ethnic people. DCNZ has great connections with ethnic communities and takes a comprehensive community-oriented strength-based approach to enhancing the well-being of ethnic people, families and communities. DCNZ’s practitioners are vetted, registered professional counsellors, educational psychologists and clinical psychologists. DCNZ offers service in 24 languages. For quality of service, practitioners receive external and internal supervision, and feedback system from those who refer and use their service.

DCNZ can provide free counselling and psychotherapy sessions for ethnic community members who are affected by the recent weather events.

 

Tairāwhiti

Tairawhiti Multicultural Council 

Tairāwhiti local government mapCyclone Gabrielle has had a devastating impact on Tairawhiti and other parts of New Zealand. Tairawhiti Multicultural Council (TMC) is part of the region’s disaster response and recovery team and is particularly focussing on supporting the needs of the migrant and refugee communities.  

TMC is part of the local business hub that has been set up and provides services to ethnic communities. These include support filling out forms, lodging insurance claims and accessing food parcels. TMC can also assist with prescription medicines, conducting needs assessments, temporary housing, and addressing social isolation by connecting with communities in support of advice or guidance. Paid and volunteer staff speak a number of languages, and this greatly assists those that have English as a second language. TMC are also going house to house, where possible, to identify the needs of our communities as the recovery will be a long one. 

TMC have partnered with a local restaurant to supply 300 meals to a community evacuation centre every second day. All these is currently being carried out through existing multicultural council resources or through generous donations from businesses or individuals. 

Hawke's Bay

Hastings Sikh community

Local government map of Hawke's BayThe Hastings Sikh community are providing hot meals daily to people affected by the recent severe weather events.

For the Hastings Sikh Society, please contact Jarnail Singh Hazara:

  • Email: Jarnail.Singh@tremains.co.nz
  • Address: 402 Eastbourne Street East, Hastings 4122 

For the Shri Guru Ravidass temple, please contact Harry Kumar:

  • Phone: 021 282 0200
  • Address: 193 Havelock Road, Akina, Hastings 4122

Multicultural Association Hawke's Bay Inc

The Multicultural Association Hawke’s Bay are here to support community members with their welfare needs. The organisation can help with census support, Civil Defence payments, paperwork, and connect you to government and community services. Community members can walk-in (10am – 1pm, Monday to Friday) or make an appointment.

Pakistan and Friends Hawke's Bay Association Incorporated 

Pakistan and Friends aims to advance education by offering training programs and advice to people of Pakistani origin and other community members to support their integration into the Hawke's Bay community. They also encourage and promote better interaction, understanding, and unity among the people of Pakistani origin and other communities residing in Hawke's Bay. 

They are currently assisting communities with the following services: 

  1. Developed a community information centre to provide information on severe weather and regional and national resources.
  2. Instant response team for the elderly and community recovery activities.
  3. Residence in a communal community during disaster management.
  4. Enabling services such as food, power, and tent arrangements.
  5. Services for women and children to ensure the family's return to work.
  6. Multilingual information translation provides local and national information in Urdu, Arabic, Farsi, and Pashto.

 

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