Community support & advocacy

Looking after yourself isn’t something you need to do alone – there are several organisations who can support you and advocate on your behalf.

• Christchurch Resettlement Service – CRS exists to support people from refugee and migrant backgrounds living in Christchurch to settle successfully in New Zealand by providing a range of professional services that build on strengths to promote wellbeing and resilience. (they have a PDF resource with contacts)
• Purapura Whetu – a Māori Health and social service provider. Their Muslim Wellbeing Team offer a whānau centred approach to community support work for people of all ages
• Victim Support – provides people affected by the Christchurch mosque attacks with access to professional counselling, funded by Victim Support.
• The Canterbury Refugee Centre advocates on behalf of the refugee communities resettled in the Canterbury area.
• Supporting Families in Mental Illness runs support groups that offer a safe place for you to meet others who are on the same journey. It offers free, caring, professional, and confidential services in Christchurch and Canterbury (from Kaikoura to the Rangitata River).
• Mental Health Foundation has a directory for Canterbury support groups, including bereaved parents and mothers navigating parenthood or suffering from anxiety disorders.
• Human Rights Commission – offers a free, informal enquiries and complaints service to deal with unlawful discrimination and racial and sexual harassment issues. If you think you have faced unlawful discrimination, you can make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.
• Office of Ethnic Communities wants to ensure ethnic communities are strong and connected. They provide information, advice and services to, and for, ethnic communities in New Zealand and administer funds to support community development and social cohesion.