The Wire with Joel

Yesterday, the Government announced that most of the country will stay at Alert Level 4 until Friday 27 August, while Auckland will continue in Alert Level 4 until next Tuesday 31 August. News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston talks to Matthew Jenkins, a Research Fellow at the University of Otago in Wellington in the Department of Psychological Medicine, about how the lockdown being extended might be impacting mental health. They discuss how people can support themselves and feel better during these uncertain times.  

On August 14 2021, News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston spoke to Natasha Gallardo, the Chief Executive of the National Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, about what the government could do to better support those with hearing loss in lockdown. The Foundation called for closed captions to be used more widely, clear masks to be implemented, and for businesses to resource their staff with ways to communicate with the hearing loss community. However, a year later, Natasha says these calls have not been answered by the government. 

Today Jemima speaks to Natasha again about how the deaf and hard of hearing community is being impacted by the latest lockdown and how you can support those who struggle with hearing loss  through this lockdown period and always.

If you are an essential business owner or someone who wants to learn more about how they can better communicate with those with hearing loss, you can head to the Resources tab on National Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing website. 

Lockdown is a particularly difficult time for the elderly community. It can be very lonely for people and it becomes even harder to access the services like the supermarket, the pharmacy or the doctor.

News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston wanted to find out how we can support the older people in our lives and make sure that everyone gets through lockdown as best they can. She interviewed Kevin Lamb, the CEO of Age Concern Auckland, and Dr Hamish Jamieson, a Geriatrician with the University of Otago, for them to provide some advice on this. They discuss how lockdown has impacted older people in the past, whether the vaccine roll out has alleviated anxieties around Covid-19 and how people can support elderly people. 

If you need support during lockdown or want to help out, you can head to www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz or call Age Concern Auckland on 09 820 0184 or 09 489 4975. 

If you want help from the Student Volunteer Army with grocery delivery, head to shop.sva.org.nz or call 09 801 2122 if you’re in Auckland. If you want to volunteer you can download the Student Volunteer Army App on your phone or contact help@sva.org.nz. 

Amnesty International New Zealand recently delivered three petitions with 19,300 signatures to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington. These petitions call for an end to the execution of child offenders, and also highlight human rights abuses against women, and those who defend people on death row. 

Jessica spoke to Amnesty International Community Manager, Margaret Taylor, who is asking for New Zealand to play a part in speaking out against this. She started the interview asking Margaret about the extent of capital punishment in Iran.