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Salvation Army Emergency Services (SAES)

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The Salvation Army in New Zealand has been involved in responding to emergencies and providing support to both victims and responding organisations for over 100 years. Our presence at these times of emergency, and our willingness and ability to meet the pressing needs is still exemplified by wartime UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s observation: ‘Where there is a need, there is The Salvation Army’.

Our staff and volunteers can work alongside Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Groups and local councils to aid disaster victims and emergency workers with practical care when there are natural disasters, search and rescue missions, police callouts and other crisis situations.

Over the last few years, we have deployed SAES workers to assist in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and Nepal, following earthquakes and cyclones.

Locally we have worked in Christchurch, Seddon, Kaikoura, Edgecumbe, Northland, Auckland, and the North Island’s east coast following earthquakes, rural fires, floods and cyclone.

Support provided by SAES

The Salvation Army in New Zealand is a support agency under the New Zealand Government’s National Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Plan and is committed to assisting in up to five CDEM Welfare ‘subfunctions’ in the event of an emergency:

  • Needs Assessment
  • Psychosocial Support
  • Household Goods and Services
  • Shelter and Accommodation
  • Financial Assistance

Further information about the National CDEM Plan can be found here: https://www.civildefence.govt.nz/cdem-sector/plans-and-strategies/national-civil-defence-emergency-management-plan-and-guide/

The Salvation Army in Fiji and Tonga have their own agreements with their respective Governments, and our Fijian and Tongan personnel also have a long history of assisting in disaster response and recovery in these nations. What we do in any given emergency/disaster depends upon the nature of the crisis and what the respective Governments request of us at the time. Nonetheless, ‘where there is a need, there is The Salvation Army’.