23/09/2026
For PhD Candidate Brandy Alger, one of the most rewarding parts of her research is seeing what can happen when a community comes together around a good idea.
That idea recently became a reality in Invercargill, with Brandy helping to pilot Borrow a Builder, an initiative designed to help older residents make simple earthquake safety improvements inside their homes. The idea came from one of the older community members involved in Brandy’s research: why not “borrow” a builder to help people make their homes safer?
Through the pilot, local builders visited 13 older residents’ homes and helped with practical earthquake-safe actions, including strapping hot water cylinders, securing heavy furniture and installing magnetic latches on cabinets.
Each resident also received an emergency grab bag starter kit, along with practical items and preparedness resources to help them continue getting prepared.
The pilot brought together a number of organisations and local businesses, with Master Builders leading the programme. Age Concern New Zealand Southland helped identify and connect with residents who could benefit from the initiative. Emergency Management Southland supported the initiative from the beginning and contributed items for the emergency kits. The Invercargill New Zealand Red Cross Disaster Welfare Support Team also visited each home beforehand with residents, helping identify which earthquake safety actions needed to be completed.
"It was pretty special to see an idea from the community become something that brought so many different people together and resulted in safer homes for the wider older community," Brandy says.
