Yesterday marked the launch of a two pronged strategy to help people to support each other within the community as we approach the further development of COVD19. With many people attending our centre living alone, staff have become concerned about the consequences of self isolation on vulnerable people.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called the community to mobilise and support each other and this we are doing. Our first plan of action is to ask people to take The West End pledge; we have asked people to pledge to keep in daily contact by phone or e-mail with at least two others, reducing the impact of this isolation.
Our second plan of action is being developed in preparation for the next stage. We are supporting people to set up online grocery shopping accounts should they be required to self isolate. The centre staff will remotely support people to access these where they have no online services.
More information is available at The West End Centre.
In the meantime we have already delivered sessions to help people be more confident when searching for health information online and video calling their GP from computers and mobile devices and will continue to run these sessions daily from 2.30-3.30.
We are encouraging people to come out whilst they still can in accordance with government guidelines. We have put extra cleaning measures in place including disinfecting all computers, keyboards, mice, headphones after each use and have run sessions on effective hand washing.
The overall aim of The West End Centre is to tackle social isolation, bring communities together and address digital isolation by providing a range of grass roots learning opportunities, support with job search, access to the internet and a range of social interest groups funded by the Big Lottery so a big thank you to all of you out there who play the lottery.
www.thewestendcentre.org