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Last modified: 21 Sep 2020 4:39pm

Group photo of the Selwyn Response Team in their high visibility orange jackets

A chance to make a difference to people’s lives in emergencies is being offered by the Selwyn Response Team.

The team, which responds on the front-line to Civil Defence emergencies, is recruiting for new members and will be holding an information evening from 7pm on Wednesday 7 October at the Rolleston Council Offices.

Team members will talk about how they respond to Civil Defence emergencies such as earthquakes, fires and floods and what’s involved in being a team member.

Volunteer Jordan Milner says he enjoys the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. The team trains once a week, and offers further training courses, ready to respond where needed, he says, from search and rescue and first aid, to whatever is required.

For Jordan that has meant manning cordons, helping people get to their houses during the 2019 Nelson fires and at Hagley Community College after the mosque shootings, helping the Muslim community have a safe space to grieve. He also helped during the Level 4 lockdown, taking supplies and helping out people in two Selwyn campgrounds, delivering food to foodbanks and distributing flyers of key support information.

“I helped some people move to motels who didn’t have anywhere to stay. It was quite rewarding. I took an elderly man to a motel and then went out and did a big shop for him and dropped it off. He was so moved. It was quite satisfying seeing people in a really tough spot and helping them through it.”