Opportunity to be neighbourly during COVID-19 crisis

With all the serious news connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are other stories emerging, stories of kindness and caring, stories of neighbour helping neighbour. 

To keep the novel coronavirus at bay, health authorities want people to distance themselves physically from others through self isolation or social distancing.

The situation has created an opportunity to be neighbourly, both literally and figuratively.

The day the province of Ontario declared a state of emergency, six-year-old Reija Majalahti and her mom Stephanie delivered letters to neighbours on their street in Sudbury.

"We gave notes to some people in our street. It says to call us if you need anything," Reija said

"Because I wanted to help."

The letters were left in neighbours' mailboxes, and include offers to pick up groceries, or run other errands and provides the family's phone number for the neighbour to reach out.

The family has already heard from one neighbour who didn't need anything, but was thrilled with receiving the note.

In his most recent statement, the mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury, Brian Bigger, took the opportunity to thank those who were lending a helping hand during the crisis.

"I would also like to thank the many of you who are volunteering to help the many seniors and others in our community who are not able or should not leave their residences. To see the groundswell of people in our community almost naturally springing into action to help others is a silver lining in this ordeal. It reassures me that as northerners and as Sudburians we are kind, considerate and resilient. It is very important that we all follow appropriate hygiene and social distancing procedures while trying to help those seniors and neighbours in need."

Online communities have been created almost overnight where users can post about needing or providing help.

Ren Ramsey is one of the administrators for the Facebook group called Sudbury Community Care and Mutual Aid.

The page was created March 12. In just one week it has attracted more than 1,250 members, and gets over 100 posts daily.

There are posts about users who need grocery items like toilet paper or hand sanitizer.

But a good majority of users are offering help, like doing someone's grocery shopping, along with posts about having extra grocery items to share.

"We acknowledge that we're all in this together and we all have needs and we all have something to offer," Ramsey said.

"There is a clear need for community online, now that we're all isolating offline," Shala Gagnon, another administrator said.

"It gives everybody an opportunity to think creatively about what we have to offer because even those of us who are homebound are able to kind of reach out and form this mutually-supportive network," Gagnon said.

The administrators moderate the posts to keep out those that might contribute to fear or panic.

"We want people to have hope and to remember that there's lots to feel good about, and there's still lots we can do," Ramsey said.

Continue looking out for each other because we are stronger together- Ren Ramsey, administrator Sudbury Community Care and Mutual Aid

Both Ramsey and Gagnon hope the mutual aid around the community will continue long after the pandemic is over, however they expect the posts and membership on the Facebook group to shrink.

"I hope that people go on taking care of each other and applying what we've learned in this time, to our future and our relationships and our politics," Ramsey added. 

"Just continue looking out for each other because we are stronger together."