Project C-19 ran from March to early August 2020 as a collaborative project between Volunteer Nelson and Neighbourhood Support Nelson, funded by Nelson City Council. This project was one of the multiple initiatives from Nelson City Council to support communities during this time of extreme disruption.

Volunteer Nelson stands ready and willing to collaborate again with Council’s should the opportunity arise.

Project C-19 is mostly concerned with organisations that provide service to vulnerable people or groups of vulnerable people. It was one of the conduits of information from our local Civil Defence Team to these organisations, and fed information from community organisations back to Civil Defence. This will gave Civil Defence the information to take effective action where it was needed most.

If you’ve lost your job or can’t work at the moment you may be able to get a benefit or some other financial help. And whether you’re working or not, if you’re struggling to meet your living costs or get an unexpected bill, you may be able to get assistance. Even if you don’t think you qualify, call Work and Income to talk about your situation on 0800 559 009 or check https://workandincome.govt.nz/eligibility/living-expenses/index.html

If you are not eligible for support from Work and Income and don’t have a way to access essential supplies (e.g. family, neighbours, homebased support or a network that can help) ring 0800 50 50 75 (Press 1 for Nelson City or 2 for Tasman) or email [email protected].

During Levels 1 & 2, to offer your time to a community group, head to our Volunteer Referral software, register with our online referral system and browse through the different opportunities. You can self refer through the system to any roles that you are interested in. For support with this, email us at [email protected] or call us on 03 546 7681 extn. 1.

During Levels 3 and 4 when Civil Defence is activated, many regular volunteer roles will be on hold. Civil Defence will coordinate all volunteer activity related to supporting vulnerable people whilst we are at Level 3 and 4. To make offers of assistance, resources and volunteers to Civil Defence send an email to [email protected] and state “Offer of Volunteer Assistance” in your email subject.