Youth encouraged to join emergency services

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

Recruiting young people into emergency services is back on the agenda for two North Canterbury councils.

The Hurunui District Council is bringing back its Youth in Emergency Services camp in July, while the Waimakariri District Council is looking to replace its successful cadet programme with a Youth in Emergency Management course.

Youth in Emergency Services (YES) was a national programme to introduce young people to volunteering in emergency services, until funding ran out five years ago.

The programme is being re-introduced in the Hurunui district thanks to the efforts of the Hurunui Youth Council

‘‘I was informed about the YES camp concept last year when I took the lead on the emergency services portfolio,’’ youth council deputy chairperson and Amuri Area School year 13 student Sam Bush said.

‘‘I decided it was something worth looking into and, through our youth council processes, it was voted on to proceed and planning began.’’

The youth council has joined forces with police, Civil Defence, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR), St John and the Red Cross.

Funding has come from the Ministry of Youth Development, the Rāta Foundation and Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM).

The YES camp will run during the July school holidays, from July 10 to 14, at the Hanmer Forest Residential Camp and is open to young people aged 16 to 19-years.

‘‘The camp is a good pathway for youth who are interested in becoming a volunteer or are looking at one of the emergency services as their future career,’’ Bush said.

‘‘It will provide them with an opportunity to experience some of what is involved with these organisations.’’

After running the YES programme for several years in collaboration with the Hurunui and Selwyn District Councils, the Waimakariri District Council’s CDEM team developed its own cadet programme.

But the programme became difficult to sustain during Covid-19, Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon said.

‘‘It was an initiative that we were very proud to have developed, however, the past couple of years have provided a difficult environment in which to operate the programme.’’

Council staff reviewed it last year and decided they could not continue it in its present form.

‘‘After engaging with the cadets, their families and key staff, it was decided the best option would be to replace the CDEM cadet programme with a sustainable long-term programme for Youth in Emergency Management,’’ Gordon said.

The new initiative would run for eight weeks, instead of being run for the duration of the school year, with the potential to offer it up to four times a year.

The focus would be on Civil Defence training.

■ To apply for the Hurunui District Council’s YES Camp, go to hurunui.govt.nz/yescamp2023.