Keeping communities together during COVID-19
Keeping communities together during COVID-19
The impact of the COVID-19 is being felt all around the country, and the Foyer community can be particularly affected during such strange times
With so many young people living under one roof, measures like social distancing and self-isolation can be difficult to implement. Foyer residents working in the service industry will likely suffer financially due to businesses closing their doors, and those who make use of food banks will be impacted by donation shortages. Anxiety and depression may also spike due to heightened worry, changes to routine and reduced access to coping mechanisms.
Although the difficulties are very real, this also creates a space for innovation and invention, challenging services to deliver in a different way and to make use of digital tools. It’s a great moment for this community of practice to come together, share ideas and support one another.
Share what measures your Foyer has been taking and we’ll disseminate everyone’s ideas to the rest of the network to help keep young people healthy and reduce the negative social impact as much as possible during this time. Below, we’ve collated some of the best tips from around the internet.
1. Many communities have set up Mutual Aid groups for at-risk neighbours. Search here for your local group, whether you’re offering or requesting assistance.
2. Social distancing means limiting physical contact, but you don’t have to lock yourself indoors unless you have symptoms. Going for a walk or bike ride can help to manage your mental health.
3. Yoga and meditation are healthy activities you don’t need much space to do. The Headspace app is free and perfect for meditation beginners, and yogis of every level will find a Yoga With Adriene tutorial they can enjoy.
4. Hold your catch-ups and coaching sessions by FaceTime or Skype to make sure you’re keeping up contact and checking in regularly while practising social distancing. People with anxiety and depression may need more, rather than less, social interaction at this time.
5. Get people together and reduce loneliness during isolation with group video calls from Zoom, Google Hangouts or Slack (type /appear to start a video). Which communal activities could you do this way? Meditation, yoga, book clubs, debate clubs, art classes and creative writing groups would all work!
6. If you haven’t already, sign up to FareShare to offset any reduction in food bank donations.