An increased interest in connecting with neighbours has continued two years on from the first lockdown.
Neighbouhood Support says now is the time to do things such as sharing a cup of tea with neighbours. Photo: 123RF
When Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced lockdown in 2020, community support was a core message.
"Go home tonight and check on your neighbours. Start a phone tree with your street. Plan how you'll keep in touch with one another. We will get through this together, but only if we stick together. So please be strong and be kind."
With cleared social calendars, there was excitement about connecting through socially distanced driveway drinks, and chats over the fence.
Enquiries to start groups through Neighbourhood Support New Zealand surged by 150 percent that month - and that number has stayed the same ever since.
In Wellington, Berhampore resident Sacha Horton has tried an array of ways to connect with people on her street.
One that has stuck, is setting up chairs, a community library, and a visitor's book outside her front door every morning.
All kinds of people have been stopping by each day since November last year.
"There was a note in the book one day [that said], 'oh, it's really nice to sit here, I've just come from work and I'm waiting for my ride'."
"There's a launderette down the street and one day there were these young people sitting with their washing baskets."
Sacha is one of 15 community connectors located from Kaitaia to Ōtepoti, Dunedin, supporting Neighbours Day Aotearoa.
It is a 10-day long annual event, and will be wrapping up on Sunday after thousands of interactions from shared kai, to recipe-swapping, to chalk art.
Harriet Paul is the community coordinator for Neighbours Day, and said there was logic to connecting with those in proximity.
"The aim overall is to kind of grow and build more resilient and joined up communities so we live in more supportive neighbourhoods," she said.
It's clear that people want to connect locally more than ever.
Neighbourhood Support New Zealand chief executive Tess Casey said in the past six months, the number of registered groups had jumped by 10.5 percent in urban areas, and 22 percent rurally.
There are now 18,000 neighbourhood groups registered.
But Casey said with the increased interest came a hesitancy to reach out.
"People need help to make that connection. They don't necessarily feel confident reaching out to their neighbours if they don't already know them. They're not sure how they should go about it, they're not sure if their approach is going to be welcome."
But Neighbourhood Support's message is clear: whether it's leaving a note in a letterbox, doing a grocery shop or sharing a beverage, now is the time to connect with our neighbours.
