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Healthline is here to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Phone calls are free from within New Zealand – this includes calls from a mobile phone.
View Healthline's website
If it is not safe to speak:
On a mobile: call 111. If you do not speak a recorded message will ask you to press 55 if you require emergency assistance
On a landline: call 111. If you do not speak the operator will ask you to press any number if you require emergency assistance
If there is background noise that indicates a service could be required (e.g. noise of a disturbance, sounds of distress etc.) then the call is presented to the service the operator deems appropriate.
Shine stands for “safer homes in New Zealand every day.” Shine is for both adult and child victims of domestic violence. They can support no matter your gender, orientation, ethnicity, culture, or personal situation.
24/7 free helpline: 0508-744-633
Frontline medical staff are trained within the Violence Prevention Programme (VIP) to recognise and give the appropriate support to victims of family violence.
If you are experiencing family violence, your health care provider, whether your GP, practice nurse, school nurse, or hospital-level specialist is a safe person to talk to.
Te Korowai Trust: social services in Stoke
Te Korowai Trust provides experienced social workers to work with whānau in strategies for managing violent or stressful relationships, using a holistic, kaupapa Māori approach. A social worker can provide advocacy when dealing with other agencies and can address the needs of tamariki within their whānau, school, and community.
398 Main Road, Stoke
Email: Manager Robyn Parkes: [email protected]
Phone: 03 547 5958
Maataa Waka Trust: Non-Violence Service in Blenheim
Maataa Waka Trustis Kaupapa Māori Social Service provider for whānau living in Marlborough. The Trust’s Stopping Violence service empowers men & women to identify strategies for keeping themselves and their whanau safe and free from family violence through care plans, safety planning, and individual sessions. Also offered: Mana Tane Group Programme, a group meeting for Men who would like to learn strategies to manage their emotions in a positive and non-violent way.
56 Main Street, Blenheim, 7201
Phone: 03 577 9256
Email: [email protected]
Tū Pono: Supporting whānau to eliminate whānau harm in Blenheim and Nelson
Tū Pono Te Mana Kaha o te whānau o Te Tauihu supports Māori communities to explore their own solutions to addressing whānau harm. If you need their help, contact them anytime.
Phone: 027 374 9454
Email Blenheim: [email protected]
Email Nelson: [email protected]
Women’s Refuge is a nation-wide organisation that supports women and children experiencing domestic violence. They can provide advice if you are thinking of leaving, home visits, support in isolated regions, 24/7 access to safe houses, advocacy when interacting with police, legal, court, WINZ, housing, doctors, schools and Oranga Tamariki.
Marlborough Womens Refuge & Sexual Violence Support Centre (Affiliated)
Crisis 0800 REFUGE
Office (03) 577 9939
Email [email protected]
Nelson Women’s Refuge Services (Affiliated)
Nga Wahine Tamariki Punanga O Whakatu
Crisis only 0800 163 344
Office (03) 544 0616
Email [email protected]
Women’s Support Motueka: Free advocacy and counselling in Motueka
Women’s Support Motueka is a non-profit organisation specialising in family harm. Their counsellors can provide free counselling, crisis response, and advocacy during appointments with lawyers, WINZ, Doctors, Police, or Oranga Tamariki.
All women (cis, transgender and non-binary) of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, identities and abilities, and are welcome to drop in:
Monday to Friday 9 am – 3 pm: Community House, Decks Reserve Motueka
Phone: 03-528 8161
Email: [email protected]
The Male Room: Advocacy and Counselling in Nelson
The Male Room is a support service for men that works closely with other domestic violence agencies to support both victims and perpetrators. Counsellors and peer supporters are trained in understanding and supporting male survivors of sexual abuse and other traumas. They offer confidential counselling, advocacy in family court, or accommodation during police safety orders. Alongside the Salvation Army and Te Piki Oranga, the Male Room forms Nelson’s Housing First programme, which recognizes that people are more able to address complex needs once they are housed.
Monday to Friday, 8 am – 5 pm
28 St Vincent Street, Nelson
Email: [email protected]
Landline: 03 548 0403
Mobile: 027 308 1215
SASH: Specialists in Nelson/ Tasman and Marlborough
SASH is a gender-neutral organisation that works with people seeking healing from sexual assault and sexual abuse both recent and historic. All services SASH provide are free. They offer counselling, court advocacy, information, education, and, in Nelson Tasman only, 24-hour crisis response support for immediate medical and police assistance.
Phone: 03 548 2407
Email: [email protected]
The above is of course not an exhaustive list of local services and support organisations. Further support can be found by:
Follow these fire safety tips from Neighbourhood Support to help keep yourself and your family safe, no matter the season:
Use the fire safety checklist on the Fire and Emergency NZ website to find anything that might be putting you at risk.
It describes ways of handling, preparing, and storing foods that prevent foodborne illness.
If gathering food:
always wash food like pūhā and watercress thoroughly after gathering or buying from others who have gathered it.
before gathering shellfish or other seafood, check with the local regional council, public health unit and the ‘marine biotoxin alerts’ on the Ministry for Primary Industries website for information about any areas contaminated with algal blooms or other hazards.
If using reusable shopping bags:
When bringing your own containers to the supermarket deli, follow these 3 steps to ensure your food stays safe to eat:
Following the 3Cs can help keep you safe from bacteria in food and reduce the chances of your family getting food poisoning:
Wash your hands with soap and dry well before handling, cooking, and eating food.
Wash chopping boards and kitchen tools in hot, soapy water and dry well after using with raw meat or seafood.
Use different chopping boards for raw meat, seafood, and ready-to-eat foods like salads and cheese.
Don’t wash chicken or raw meat. Washing will spread bacteria in your kitchen and may contaminate other food.
Wash your hands after handling eggs and use clean eggs free from dirt, faecal matter, and cracks.
Cook raw chicken, sausages, and mince patties all the way through. Check that the juices run clear and they’re not pink in the centre.
Cook eggs thoroughly – until the white is completely firm and the yolk begins to thicken.
Defrost frozen foods thoroughly or they won’t cook properly in the middle. Defrost food in your fridge or use the defrost setting in your microwave.
Reheat until piping hot. Warm doesn’t kill bacteria. Hot does.
Don’t reheat leftovers more than once.
When storing food:
Keep the fridge at or below 4 degrees Celsius
Refrigerate or freeze any leftovers within two hours. Don’t leave your boil-up, soup or casserole on the stove for long periods of time, instead pop it in a container and into the fridge.
Keep eggs in the fridge after purchase.
Refrigerate raw meat on the bottom shelf, and keep it separate from cooked or other ready-to-eat foods.
Eat leftovers within two days.
Clued Up Kids is a multi-agency programme teaching primary school-aged children confidence and life skills to help them stay safe in a range of real-life scenarios.
The programme runs in primary schools in the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough regions. The agencies involved include:
A safe community is one where people can live, work and visit without fear, risk of harm or injury.
Perceptions of safety – real or perceived – affect how people feel and interact in their community. Community safety is not only about reducing and preventing injury and crime, it is about building strong, cohesive, vibrant, participatory communities.
In March 2014, Marlborough became the 332nd community worldwide and the 25th community in New Zealand to gain accreditation as an 'international safe community'. Read more about this on the Marlborough District Council website.
At the time, evidence showed an increase in reports of family violence, assaults, and road related injury and death, as well as increases in alcohol related harm. The safety of homes, workplaces, schools and the outdoors were also of high concern.
Of course, prior to the formation of Safe & Sound Marlborough (or SASM), there were many community groups, NGOs, and local chapters of government organisations already focused on these issues and doing exemplary work within the Marlborough community.
What SASM sought to do was to give these existing groups a way to talk to one another. Organisers identified key stakeholders in the areas of transport safety, workplaces and learning environments, alcohol and other drugs, rural and outdoor safety, safe homes, and community and family violence. In bimonthly meetings, organisations such as ACC, FENZ, Police, Neighbourhood Support, Corrections, Red Cross, Council, and REAP, have the opportunity to collaborate, support each other’s efforts and identify gaps.
For example, in the area of alcohol and other drugs, SAS brought together St John Ambulance, NZ Police, St Marks Drug & Addiction Services, among others, which resulted in the formation of MAGG: Marlborough Alcohol Governance Group. This group is responsible for identifying the needs and engaging community support for actions to address those needs.
In the area of road safety, following the demise of the Plunket car seat rental scheme there was concern that children would be unrestrained in cars, or the car seats would be incorrectly fitted. SASM organized a community meeting inviting organisations with an interest in child safety to develop programmes of mahi to mitigate this risk.
Follow Safe and Sound Marlborough on Facebook for updates, alerts, and events.
Natalie Lawler, Community Partnerships Support: [email protected]
Rebekah Lowe, SASM Organiser: [email protected]
A RAPID number stands for Rural Address Property Identification. If someone is injured on a rural property, emergency services will see the reflective blue and white numbers on the mailbox. Telling the 111 operator the RAPID number can also get services to you faster.
To apply:
