As every news update brings us more alarming news about the spread of COVID-19 around the UK, and as measures suggested by the government become more and more stringent to try to prevent this, Ruddington has already come together in a quite astonishing way to help out those in our community who are elderly or vulnerable.
The impacts of the virus first began to be felt in our village around a week ago when some shoppers started panic buying. Then we reported on the ‘Community Call Up’ just before the weekend from Laura Ratcliffe of Ruddington Mums. She asked residents who knew of any people in our village who would struggle, if required to self-isolate due to Coronavirus, to pop into Saturday morning’s Councillors’ Surgery to make Council representatives aware. This would enable a list to be made for volunteers to check up on and help out such villagers – as well as the chance to volunteer to assist vulnerable residents themselves.
Over those two hours Borough and Parish Councillors were delighted to see a non stop stream of villagers heading through the doors, willing to offer help and information. This led to Rushcliffe Borough Cllr Jennifer Walker setting up a dedicated Facebook Group called Ruddington COVID-19 UK Mutual Aid. This has already acquired around six hundred members! You can join it >>HERE<< or by clicking on the image below.
Cllr Walker says: “I am amazed, humbled and a little overwhelmed by the response to this page.
Offers of help have come from many different places so can I ask that all of you who have offered help to please email our new email point of contact ruddcovid19@gmail.com even if you have already said you can help in previous posts or places.”
Within this email you’re asked to include:
- Your name
- Your street
- Your age
- General availability (am or pm)
- Do you have access to a car?
- Are you DBS checked? (not essential)
- If you, or someone you live with, has any underlying health conditions?
- Are you willing to leaflet?
“As there have been offers of help on many different platforms and posts we really do need to collate it all in one place so please do email us on the email above. Please don’t assume I know, as we are going to use the email responses only” says Jennifer. “I’m very sorry this wasn’t done at the onset but I hadn’t expected such a flurry of offers – and we are working it out as we go! These really are unprecedented times.”
Jennifer adds: “You’re all amazing and so many people have messaged me to say thank you and how heartened they are by our community. If this virus takes hold people will know they are not alone.”
However, Cllr Walker warns: “Please keep using the same ‘stranger danger’ approach you would in normal times and make sure your elderly and/or vulnerable friends and relatives are kept safe from fraudsters. We are organising as a community in a sensible way to avoid anything happening to those we are trying to support.”
For elderly and vulnerable residents not online but who are already self isolating, a help and information leaflet from the COVID-19 RUDDINGTON COMMUNITY RESPONSE TEAM (below) is currently being printed – and will be distributed around the village by volunteers this weekend. Alternatively you can click on the image now and print it out for someone who’s in need.
Ruddington poet and resident Pat Dring comments: “What a lovely idea – especially now when they are talking about us over seventies having to isolate ourselves for months!”
Ruddington Parish Councillor, Graham Fletcher, emphasises that these are, indeed, very worrying times for the more vulnerable members of our community: “Let’s make an effort to just check on the neighbours that you know might fall into this category – maybe if you are going shopping you could ask them if they need anything or even if it’s just to tap on the window to ask if they are ok?” says Graham. “It will hopefully give them a little reassurance that they are not alone and their community is looking out for them. The village is rallying around the call for volunteers, the work that Councillor Jen Walker and her team are putting into setting up this is enormous. Everyone can do their bit in some way. Let’s look after ourselves and our neighbours in this challenging period!”
Ruddington businesses are also rallying around to help these efforts. Alex Preston from The Bottle Top, who’re helping to co-ordinate the Community Response initiative, says: “Thank you for all your offers of support and your ideas. It’s been overwhelming and shows what a community Ruddington has here. We have seen your offers and ideas and are working behind the scenes to get a plan of action in place. It is clear we need to support the most vulnerable in our community.”
Andy Heath from The Frame Breakers says: “Alongside The White Horse and The Red Lion, the Breakers will help in any way we can. We will be on hand to act as a base, store, or whatever, to help support the local community.”
However there has been local dismay at Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s latest comments about avoiding pubs and restaurants – despite all the UK’s schools remaining open. Although today’s advice was directed primarily at Londoners, there are worries the knock-on effect here could be devastating for some of our already hard-pressed village hospitality businesses.
We’ll have more local reaction to this on RUDDINGTON.info in the next couple of days – along with news of a raft of village events and regular meetings which have now been postponed or cancelled due to the virus.
Meantime, please find the latest NHS information on COVID-19 symptoms – plus advice on how to avoid contracting or spreading this Coronavirus – >>HERE<<.
