Auckland Storm Recovery Navigator Annabel Kynman-Wilson said navigators were offering one-on-one support for residents hit by this year's storms. Photo: Felix Walton
Support workers in Auckland are hoping to guide storm-affected residents through the complicated recovery process.
"Storm recovery navigators" - who are employed by Auckland Council - are hosting drop-in sessions throughout the city to give advice on insurance, accommodation and other services.
Navigator Annabel Kynman-Wilson was managing a booth at the Wesley Market on Tuesday, where she offered support for residents unsure what to do next.
"We can offer one-on-one support - there's still a lot of people out there who need support," she said. "It's very overwhelming."
Many residents were still dealing with insurance and accommodation issues several months after Cyclone Gabrielle and the prior storms.
Cars floating in floodwaters in Kimberley Road, Epsom during the Auckland Anniversary floods, 28 January, 2023. Photo: RNZ / Pip Keane
Kynman-Wilson said it was difficult for people to access the resources that were available to them. "For a lot of people this is a completely new world," she said.
"There's a lot of support out there for people, so a lot of what we do is just connecting people to that support."
As the name suggested, Kynman-Wilson said "navigators" were there to guide people through the winding and often confusing road to recovery.
"Some people are struggling with insurance," she said.
"We have contacts with the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service, so we can connect people with them if they're having trouble with their home insurance.
Other challenging areas included rates relief and accommodation.
"We can help people if they want rates relief, we can walk them through the right steps [and] we have a lot of connections for people who need temporary accommodation," she said.
"We can come up with a bit of a recovery plan for people."
It was especially helpful for residents to meet face-to-face with a representative from Auckland Council, Kynman-Wilson said.
"Something we're doing more and more is home visits with people, or organising to meet in community centres, libraries, and stuff like that. Sitting down face to face," she said.
"People feel so much more relaxed when they know there's someone within council helping them."
Navigators were hosting drop-in sessions at the Wesley Community Centre and in Muriwai on Tuesday afternoon, followed by sessions in the CBD and Epsom later this month.
Auckland Council said the current team of 17 navigators would be joined by another 20 staff, thanks to funding from the Ministry of Social Development.
That would lead to more sessions over the coming months and more capacity to respond to email or phone enquiries, Kynman-Wilson said.
"There's lots of different things that need to be done. It can be quite difficult to break it all down and focus on what's most important," she said.
"To completely rebuild your life is a very difficult process, so I think it's important to acknowledge the difficulties people are going through and walk alongside them."