North Island Weather Events - Community Connectors - Budget 2023

Providing targeted support to help people affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods connect with the services they need - Wellbeing Budget 2023.

This initiative provides Community Connectors to help individuals and whānau in regions affected by North Island Weather Events.

The Government is investing $13.067 million in the 2023/24 financial year to support community and whānau resilience by providing a further year of funding for 65 Community Connectors in regions impacted by the January 2023 floods and Cyclone Gabrielle. Connectors support and advocate for those they work with until they are connected with appropriate services.

• Community Connectors are employed by social sector providers and non-government organisations, such as churches, marae, and local community groups, to provide short-term support to individuals and whānau to prevent and reduce the impacts of hardship.
• Community Connectors link impacted communities to essential psychosocial and employment supports and work with people to help them connect with appropriate supports. This will be particularly important as communities continue to recover from the January 2023 floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.
• Community Connectors have been critical to the COVID-19 pandemic response since they were set up in June 2020. They help ensure that New Zealanders who are not accessing government supports and services receive early engagement in a trusted setting. Community Connectors identify opportunities for early intervention, helping reduce the prevalence of persistent disadvantage.
• Since February, Community Connectors have also helped people to recover from the January 2023 floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.
• Funding is prioritised for providers in Māori, Pacific and ethnic communities where the need for community support is greatest. Community Connectors provide holistic and culturally anchored support to whānau including children and young people.
• Community Connectors are part of the Social Sector Commissioning approach, which involves changing from a system guided by responding to people's needs with pre-determined services, to one that is guided by the purpose of supporting individuals and whānau to live a life they value.
• These 65 Community Connectors will help approximately 32,500 households and whānau to be supported.