The CERA Wellbeing Survey is an opportunity for residents of greater Christchurch to say how they're going and what they think about the earthquake recovery. It's conducted every six months by CERA and partner agencies with the participation of a random selection of around 2,500 greater Christchurch residents.
The feedback given by residents helps identify what's causing people stress, impacts on their quality of life and social connectedness, barriers they're facing and opportunities they've encountered, what satisfies them about the recovery and any positive impacts they're experiencing as a result of the earthquakes.
Public input from the Survey helps measure earthquake recovery progress and gives social and other agencies an idea of emerging trends in community wellbeing, helping them make decisions about how to target funds and resources to support greater Christchurch residents and communities.
The CERA Wellbeing Survey was conducted for the sixth time between March and May 2015, receiving a total of 2,550 responses.
Results from the Survey show many greater Christchurch residents are feeling increasingly positive about their lives, about tangible signs of progress, about opportunities to experience public events and spaces and about business and employment opportunities. Compared to the same period in 2014, more report feeling a stronger sense of personal commitment to the region and fewer people report feeling negatively impacted by transport pressures and insurance and repair issues.
However, negative wellbeing issues and areas of stress remain, particularly for those with unresolved insurance claims, people with ill-health or disabilities, people living in low income households, renters and people living in temporary housing. Confidence in decision-making by agencies involved in the recovery has dropped since September 2014, particularly in relation to CERA and Selwyn District Council.
CERA and partner agencies will continue to address the areas of stress and concern highlighted.