A Queenstown Lakes District Council-led initiative dubbed Project Assist has gauged how the district is managing an influx of displaced Cantabrians from the February 22 earthquake.
"Local services and community groups report they are able to cope in the short term with the influx of visitors from Christchurch in the wake of the earthquake, although some sectors, particularly in Wanaka, say they are being stretched," Mayor Vanessa van Uden said.
The council convened community discussions in Queenstown last Friday and in Wanaka on Tuesday, to assess how social services, schools and community agencies were coping with the influx and whether more resources were needed to help deal with their needs, she said.
"We have gladly welcomed them into our community but at the same time, we're aware many of these people need support and this places demands on local services."
The discussion groups exposed similar issues in both Queenstown and Wanaka.
Schools reported large numbers of new pupils, with 490 enrolled district-wide as of Monday.
"The Ministry of Education is providing a lot of support but larger class sizes have the potential to lead to teacher stress. This is expected to be alleviated by using extra relief teachers," Ms van Uden said.
Spikes in patient numbers at medical centres in both towns were reported, particularly with people seeking counselling.
Wanaka medical services were coping well with the extra workload but extra resources would be needed in the long term, if the level of displaced visitors remained.
Education and community co-ordinators had been appointed for both Queenstown and Wanaka and a QLDC customer services officer in Wanaka was reassigned as a dedicated liaison person for people from Canterbury seeking assistance with accommodation.
A similar role had been established in Queenstown.
"As part of Project Assist we're asking for people from Christchurch to register with the council so we can get a better idea of how many people we are dealing with," Ms van Uden said.
People can register with the council either by calling into the council offices in Gorge Rd, Queenstown, or Ardmore St, Wanaka, or by phoning the Queenstown office on (03) 441-0499 or the Wanaka office on (03) 443-0024.
