22 Mar 2015

Pasifika face barriers in post-quake city

10:14 pm on 22 March 2015

The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs says a report into how some Pacific Islanders are coping in Christchurch post-earthquake, is an opportunity to encourage more people to ask for help.

The report, by Allright, a Canterbury District Health Board mental health campaign group, interviewed dozens of people in 2012 and 2013.

Those surveyed felt language barriers, the lack of affordable housing, expectations on how they perform in school and access to health care are the main issues Pasifika face.

The ministry's regional advisor, Diane Fenika, said it was important to empower the Pacific community to engage with the help that was available.

She said in Auckland the number of Pacific people meant there was the luxury of having services particularly targeting that group, but that was not the case in Christchurch.

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