A special edition of Big Gun News has been published with details of our community response to the effects of the pandemic. Below is the full text of the notice contained in the edition.
It would be fantastic if you could forward it to other friends and neighbours so that we can reach our first goal of finding out as much as we can about who would like help, and who is willing to give it.
Coronavirus – Bighton & Gundleton Community Support Initiative
Background
The Coronavirus pandemic is escalating and will affect a considerable proportion of our neighbours and friends. Those over the age of 70 are having their social contact severely reduced and may be unable to undertake everyday tasks, such as shopping or accessing regular medication – we think there are around 80 people in Bighton and Gundleton in this age bracket. This is 24% of our community! Equally, those who are vulnerable or at risk owing to pre-existing medical conditions will also find themselves very restricted. Lastly, there may be households where one person contracts the virus, causing all family members, irrespective of age, to be quarantined for 14 days.
What Can We Do?
Against this backdrop, we have decided to launch an initiative to help these people and each other, to soften the blow as much as possible, make practical tasks easier and try to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Our proposal is that a group of volunteers provides support and help in the following areas:
Shopping – delivering foodstuffs and collection of medical supplies.
Technology – helping the less ‘tech savvy’ keep in touch with families and friends.
Emotional – being someone to talk to.
What do we need from you?
i) Identifying who needs help most:
We would like to have as good an idea as possible of people who are in need and who would like help. So if you are in need or know someone who is, please email us on coronahelp@bighton.org.uk, call Ally Allfrey on 07519 409931, Bob Ellis on 01962 773427 or Ian Johnson on 0771 804 5943, or let your neighbours know and ask them to contact us.
To help people know that help is at hand, please tell your friends, spread the message, speak to your neighbours and ask if they would like assistance.
ii) Finding volunteers:
We already have a wonderful list of 18 volunteers, but this will take considerable manpower and time. We would be hugely appreciative of all possible help. If you feel able to give support, please email coronahelp@bighton.org.uk or call Ally Allfrey on 07519 409931 or Ian Johnson on 0771 804 5943.
We plan to get this initiative up and running as soon as possible, so do get in touch as soon as you can. This sort of situation will bring out the best in our strong community and we very much hope it will make a big difference to those suffering most.
Thank you for all your support and kindness.