A website has been launched to support Hanover and Elm Grove residents during the Covid-19 crisis, so people can easily find help and support. It aims to attract more volunteers in order to help vulnerable people in the area to get the supplies and support they need. The group has already attracted more than 900 members.
The website was created by Nancy Maher, who is part of the local Mutual Aid and Support Group. She said:
“I feel the impact on so many and wanted to find a way to help my community. With Mutual Aid I found a way to help, both in my street and across Brighton. There is power in connecting people to people and getting support resources into the hands of the community quickly. Our website is one way we can do that, so if it makes a positive difference to helping someone today then I am over the moon.”
“In this time of constant uncertainty and disrupted lives, we want to make available to everyone crucial, trustworthy and up-to-date information to support them. We sincerely hope that this will alleviate some of our neighbours’ anxiety and stress. Residents have already been dealing with the diverse struggles we are all encountering: getting groceries, medication, working from home, applying for universal credit, childcare and coping with staying at home. We also wanted to tell residents where and how to find help, and how they can help friends and neighbours safely.”
Ward councillor, Elaine Hills, was also involved in putting the website together. She said:
“We’ve been meeting with members of the Mutual Aid and Support Group since before lockdown began, discussing how we could best support residents, and we agreed that a website would be a good way of pooling the links and information we have, particularly for those who don’t use Facebook.
We are extremely grateful to the local Mutual Aid and Support group for the way in which they are bringing our community together. They’ve done a brilliant job networking people street by street, so that almost every street now has a rep and a WhatsApp group so people can call on each other for help, while sharing resources and ideas in the Facebook group. The website will hopefully mean that even more people can access the help that is available to them.”
For more information, check out their website here
You can join the Mutual Aid and Support Facebook group here