Disabled people and Covid-19 – Episode 5 – Hauora and Mental Health

While we worked collectively to ensure our whānau are safe from the virus, we saw the critical importance of taking care of our holistic wellbeing and mental health during the pandemic.

Series Introduction

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all New Zealanders, but it hasn’t impacted everyone equally. Our disabled and Māori communities have borne the brunt of this pandemic, experiencing major challenges to accessing essential services, and significant struggles during the nationwide lockdowns. However, disabled people have also pulled together to ensure our communities are kept safe, and our people have what they need to get by.

This accessible six part video series showcases the stories of disabled community members across Aotearoa, exploring their experiences of the pandemic during Alert Levels 3 and 4. From making sure they could get kai for their whānau to getting essential help to those who need it most – we hear from disabled kiwis in their own words so that we can ensure a more accessible future for our whole team of 5 million.

This series is brought to you by the DPO Coalition, with funding from the Office for Disability Issues, and proudly produced by Activate Agency. All videos contain NZSL, captions in English and te reo Māori, and Audio Description. Transcripts are available in English, and te reo Māori, and episode summaries are available in plain English.

Episode 5 | Hauora & Mental Health

While we worked collectively to ensure our whānau are safe from the virus, we saw the critical importance of taking care of our holistic wellbeing and mental health during the pandemic. Disruption to regular routines, social isolation, and not being able to be with loved ones were a challenge for many whānau throughout Alert Levels 3 & 4, especially for whānau whaikaha.

Play episode 5 for Deb and Nigel’s stories on hauora, and hauora hinengaro (mental health) during Covid Alert Levels 3 & 4.

Content Note: This video discusses experiences of mental distress, death, and tangihanga.

This video contains the following accessibility features: NZSL, Captions in English & te reo Māori; Audio Description.

The DPO Coalition acknowledges the contribution of all disability sector organisations to make sure that the wellbeing of, informational needs, and support for disabled people was monitored and improved upon throughout the impact of COVID-19.

Watch Episode 5 here

Accessible Transcript – Word

Transcript – te reo Māori – PDF

Transcript – te reo Māori – Word

Transcript – English – PDF

Transcript – English – Word

Episode summary – plain English – PDF

Episode summary – plain English – Word