How A Midlife Volunteer Found Purpose In Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence

Friday, 4 April 2025, 8:05 pm
Article: Linda Hall - Local Democracy Reporter

A Hastings Civil Defence volunteer says she has learned a smorgasbord of skills she never would have under her own steam.

Yvonne Lorkin joined the HB Civil Defence Emergency Management Group team 18 months ago and has trained in controlling the movement of people, rescuing people at ground level, operating a four-wheel drive, and recovering vehicles from rivers, to name just a few.

“As a person in midlife, I’m so grateful to have the chance to learn new skills,” she said.

“I feel privileged to be part of Civil Defence knowing what is expected of it and have huge respect for all team members across New Zealand.”

She is not the only one undergoing training.

Two months on from adopting its new Transformation Strategy, the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group (HBCDEM) Joint Committee says change is happening, with more staff than ever trained to co-ordinate an emergency response.

Hawke’s Bay regional councillor Hinewai Ormsby, Chair of the HBCDEM Joint Committee, said a key focus is to have trained people, capable of sustaining an emergency response over an extended period, on all Hawke’s Bay’s councils.

“There is now major progress being made in that area, with a substantial increase in the number of council and partner agency staff receiving emergency management training,” Ormsby said.

Lorkin said she loves Hastings.

“It’s my place and when I moved back from Christchurch I thought I should be more civic minded. But like usual I procrastinated.

“Then Cyclone Gabrielle hit and I knew so many people who were shockingly affected. I thought maybe I could get involved and help in some way and give some tangible help if something like this happened again. Maybe I could be of some use.”

She attended a recruiting training and practical course where her problem-solving skills were tested.

“There were all sorts of scenarios. I passed muster and was recruited on probation.”

There are three teams, communications, welfare and response. Lorkin is in the response team.

“It’s a huge commitment being part of a team,” she said.

“I have three jobs and travel a lot. I worked hard to get to training on Tuesday evening and then every one to two months there are weekends of intensive training.”

Volunteers are provided with all the gear they need and are encouraged to keep a survival bag on them so if they get a call they are ready to go.

“I’m 51 and there’s a need for me. It would be great to get younger people on board. You [only] have to be 18.”

Lorkin said there was a basic fitness test once or twice a year.

“It doesn’t involve running a marathon or sprinting. It’s things like climbing a ladder quickly and dragging a 75kg person for 50m.”

She has also had lots of First Aid training and advanced hospital care.

“I never thought I would learn to use a two-way radio system, but I have and I’m up for it.”

HBCDEM acting group manager Shane Briggs said it had signed with a national provider of training, investing an additional $160,000 into training between now and the end of June this year.

“Over 90 training courses, reaching more than 1000 participants from councils and partner agencies, have been delivered or scheduled within the 18 months from March 2024 to June 2025,” Briggs said.

“There are now 27 Community Emergency Hubs established with an additional 65 in progress. Staff have also worked with six communities to complete Community Resilience Plans and there are another 20 Community Resilience Plans in development,” Briggs said.

Ormsby said the next milestone is the delivery of 10 local emergency management exercises across Hawke’s Bay in the latter half of 2025, culminating in a major combined exercise involving all levels of the HBCDEM system.

“While training is one part of the equation, to reap the benefits we need to put these newfound skills into practice. Conducting a range of emergency management exercises will help ensure we are as ready as we can be for future events,” she said.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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