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Mar 2020

Last Updated: 21/03/2020

Thousands offer to help others in the Harrogate district

by Tamsin O'Brien

| 16 Mar, 2020

Support groups blossom and thousands volunteer as the district rallies to support

Across the district today local people have launched social media sites to mobilise support for their elderly and vulnerable neighbours.

Covid Co-Operation Harrogate, a Facebook page which was started over the weekend, already has more than 4,000 members who are either offering help or need it. Susie Little from Birstwith, who started the group, said she is ‘overwhelmed’ and that she ‘never expected’ so much support. The site is working to connect people:

“If you are well and are able to run errands for people who aren’t, please write a new post saying whereabouts in Harrogate you are.

If you are elderly, vulnerable or ill, please message me directly and I will match you with someone close to you who can potentially help. Any shopping etc will be delivered to doorsteps - no actual contact will be made.

We all need to pull together and help each other out and let’s make people’s lives a little bit easier and less worrying."

The public rapid response came as the Government warned that people over the age of 70 could be told “within the coming weeks” to stay at home for an extended period of time to protect themselves from coronavirus.

Community response meetings between various organisations are planned across the borough over the next couple of days to discuss action plans.

The Stray Ferret is compiling a list of support groups in the district. Click here.

Social media groups have also been set up to serve the people of Knaresborough and Boroughbridge. #ViralKindness postcards, which was started by a woman from Cornwall, offers a printable postcard aims to help elderly and vulnerable neighbours who are self- isolating. This is now being circulated among many of these groups locally offering help to those who may not use social media. A Harrogate printing company ‘Enid Taylors’ posted on twitter today saying it was getting involved:

With supermarkets struggling to cope; empty shelves in stores and up to a weeks wait for a delivery slot online, some local shops stepped in to make sure people get the supplies they need.

Havenhands the bakers, based in Boroughbridge, has started offering this service. It’s owner, Clarke Thornton told the Stray Ferret:

‘It helps support our business as well as our loyal elderly customers. In light of people being stuck in their own homes we want to offer to deliver bread, cakes, pies or whatever else they may need. We can take payments over the phone so no contact is necessary. ”

If you have you launched a support group or are offering to help people through this crisis and would like us to publicise it , please get in touch below