Everybody needs good neighbours, but it’s becoming a rarer occurrence these days.

So Waitaki Neighbourhood Support co-ordinator Christine Dorsey, and Constable Jay Morriss are keen to do something about it.

In her role, Christine has heard a few stories about Ōamaru neighbours who have gone above and beyond to help out, and she decided they should be recognised.

“Basically we're just trying to acknowledge neighbours who are doing great things, because we need our neighbours, and we need to be able to rely on them, and we want to have some good news stories,” she said.

The three people who sparked the initiative were each recognised with a certificate and box of chocolates on Monday (26 February).

The first, Carolyn Lister, has an elderly neighbour who activated her St John alarm to dial 111 for a medical emergency. The alarm also notified the next of kin, but nobody could get into the house to be with the woman until the ambulance arrived, because she was inside with the door locked, Christine said.

“So this lovely lady, who’s over 70, got her husband to hold the ladder, and she climbed in through this tiny little toilet window to get to her elderly neighbour, and was then able to unlock the door so that the next of kin could be with her and wait - which is pretty amazing.”

Jay and Christine with good neighbour and Coupland's Bakery staff member Michelle McGrath (centre).

Next is Coupland’s Bakery staff member, Michelle McGrath, who keeps an eye out for the person living next door to the Thames Highway business.

“I already knew she was doing a lot for her neighbour, but one day I was in the shop, and I actually heard her talking, ‘oh, I need to go and check if the next door neighbour’s curtains are open this morning’, and ‘I think she wants some milk dropped off’, and I just thought that was amazing.”

Michelle had also been recognised by her employers for her great engagement with customers, and so she was obviously “that kind of person”. It is great her good deeds are being encouraged further up the line, Christine said.

“They're really happy that she's doing that, and so they don't mind her doing that in work time and keeping a lookout and so on.” 

She hopes other businesses will follow suit, and keep an eye out for those living in the houses around them.

The third person Christine heard about after she helped run a Neighbourhood Support/Sport Waitaki initiative in Dacre Street, closing it off to traffic one morning and turning it into a “play street”.

The idea was to bring the neighbourhood residents outside to play old-fashioned games together.

“I learnt about a person who basically opens their whole backyard to all the neighbourhood kids,” Christine said. 

“Who allows them all to come in, who allows them to borrow scooters and everything else and go and play with them. Who then, when the kids are all hanging about, gives them food to eat and who just generally really looks out for the children in the neighbourhood.” 

That person is Christina Kyles, who also has three young children of her own.

Jay with good neighbour Christina Kyles and her children.

After hearing about these top-notch neighbours, Christine spoke with the Ōamaru Police - a main partner of Neighbourhood Support - and they decided it was a good idea to acknowledge these people.

“So Jay Morriss and I went out together with our certificates and our chocolates and turned up to give these people a great surprise, I hope, not a shock . . . and they were just really taken aback, because all of them believed that what they were doing is just, you know, what everyone should be doing. The fact is, everyone's not doing that.

“People have become so isolated and busy that they're not actually interacting as much with their neighbours as they could be . . . so it's just really trying to get people to see that neighbours can make a massive difference to the lives of others, and really encouraging other people to be like these people.” 

Christine will continue to ask people to dob in their good neighbours, through the Neighbourhood Support newsletters and Facebook page, and they can message or email her at [email protected].

“It's something that I will keep asking for . . .  because we really just want to acknowledge good things.”

The little things can have much more impact than people know.

Children think they can't do anything, she said.

“But, jeepers, even children can smile and wave and say hello, so I think it's really just trying to promote all of that. 

“It doesn't have to be anything huge, or mighty, it can just be a little thing, but it can make a big difference to someone else.”