Coronavirus: Weekly update From Camden Council
The situation with coronavirus is changing daily and the Council is committed to keeping residents updated regularly with essential information. You’ll find weekly updates here in the Camden New Journal, including changes to council services and information about the support available in the community through the Council and its partners. For the latest updates, visit the dedicated webpage camden.gov.uk/coronavirus and the rolling news feed camden.gov.uk/coronavirusnews You can also check Twitter @CamdenCouncil or speak to someone at the Council directly on 020 7974 4444 (option 9). SIGN UP to the Council’s coronavirus e-newsletter for service updates, news and support, at camden.gov.uk/coronavirus-updates
VE Day Tomorrow (Friday) is VE Day, which this year recognises 75 years since the Second World War ended in Europe. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, mass events are not allowed to mark VE Day this year. However, there is a national programme of events and activities residents can follow from their homes.
This week we held our first virtual Shout Out – where young people in Camden come together to talk about their experiences of lockdown and vision for their future. It was an incredible session with Camden’s young people talking about their fears and challenges but also the amazing work they are doing in their communities to build a better future. This is the first of a series of Shout Out events and you can find out more about activities and support for young people at camdenrise.co.uk We continue to be in awe of the way Camden’s residents and voluntary sector are helping each other. I saw this in action this week at Queen’s Crescent Community Association where staff and volunteers mark Iftar each evening by cooking and serving hot meals to anyone who needs one. It’s a chance to check in with each other as well as share food with neighbours. It is one of the many ways the voluntary sector is showing extraordinary care and dedication to serve the community during this crisis. As usual, if you’d like to get in touch with your local councillor, please call Member Support on 020 7974 2792 or email membersupport@camden.gov.uk Councillor Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council
Help to keep everyone safe this bank holiday weekend Friday marks the start of a bank holiday weekend. Warm weather is forecast but the guidance remains the same – please stay at home. Parks and open spaces should be used for essential exercise only, once a day. These spaces should not be used for sunbathing, picnics, barbeques or sports – doing this puts everyone’s health at risk. If you are exercising or out for another essential purpose, always keep 2 metres away from anyone who you don’t live with. If you have your own garden, please use that so that those without can have space in Camden’s parks. To keep yourself and everyone around you safe, please remember to follow the guidelines at all times.
Visit ve-vjday75.gov.uk for online resources. These include guides to help you discover your local and family Second World War histories, recipes and music for celebrating at home, a downloadable toolkit to create posters and bunting, and more. Tweet @CamdenCouncil with your best VE Day photos.
camden.gov.uk/coronavirus 020 7974 4444 (option 9)
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Service updates Young people share experiences of lockdown during virtual Shout Out Camden Council held its first virtual Shout Out yesterday (Wednesday, 6 May), bringing young people from across the borough together to share their experiences of being in lockdown. Organised by the Camden Youth Council and Youth Offending Service Peer Advocates, this was the first of two events that aim to encourage young people to give their views on the current pandemic and share with others what life has been like for them. Councillors and Council staff also joined the forum so they could hear from young people in the borough directly. The second event, on Wednesday 20 May, will ask young people to discuss their hopes and plans for recovery after the lockdown is lifted. The events provide a safe platform for young people to connect with each other as well as share their experiences. Asma Maloumi, Deputy Youth MP for Camden, said: “Now more than ever, the internet is our lifeline – not only connecting us to our friends and family but allowing us to keep in contact with vital support and advice ready at the tap of a screen when we need them most.” For more details and to join the next event, visit camdenrise.co.uk or email rema.patel@camden.gov.uk
Some formal council meetings are resuming, using video technology due to the current coronavirus restrictions.
cross-party panel. The Council is committed to being transparent and open about its decisions – this meeting will discuss updates on the Council’s emergency response and how it is dealing with the coronavirus crisis.
You can watch meetings live or as recordings at https://councilmeetings. camden.gov.uk
Tuesday 12 May, 7pm: Housing Scrutiny Committee, where a report on the Chalcots Estate will be considered.
Thursday 7 May, 10am: Licensing Panel E – an application by a hotel in Holborn and Covent Garden to vary hours and conditions on their existing licence will be considered.
Wednesday 13 May, 7pm: Cabinet meeting – the Leader of the Council will meet with councillors with responsibility for different areas of the Council’s work to consider topics, including the impact of COVID-19 on the Council’s finances.
Online council meetings
Monday 11 May, 7pm: The first COVID-19 oversight
Thank you!
Thank you from Camden’s estate caretakers “I’m Kennedy, a Camden estates caretaker, and I want to say a big thank you to everyone living on Camden’s estates for doing their bit to keep me and my other frontline colleagues safe. Small changes like putting your rubbish in the right place make a big difference to our days and help us to keep on looking after where you live – so keep it up! Five easy ways to help your caretaker: 1. Remember to stand at least 2 metres away from everyone you don’t live with, including me – this is to keep you and me safe. 2. Make sure your recycling is clean and dry and tie rubbish bags up securely. Always put rubbish and recycling in the bins properly so we don’t have to touch it. 3. If you have a chute, don’t put anything in it that doesn’t fit. Blocked chutes are difficult to fix, can be really dangerous and stop me doing the job I’m meant to be doing – looking after where you live. You can find a list of all upcoming meetings at camden.gov.uk/democracy
4. Don’t drop litter, including masks and gloves, and do what you can to keep your area clean. 5. Avoid big clear-outs and try and reduce the amount of rubbish you create. If you need to get rid of bulky items, speak to your caretaker and if you can, bring any items to the agreed collection point. “Let’s work together to help each other. If you can help me stay safe and well, I can carry on looking after where you live.”
Community support Queen’s Crescent Community Association Queen’s Crescent Community Association (QCCA) in Gospel Oak is busier than ever supporting local residents during the coronavirus outbreak.
Support for families If you’ve got children and the lockdown is starting to feel overwhelming, you’re not alone. You can reach out to: • The Council’s Early Help family check-in service • Your child’s school • Your local children’s centre • Or your local community centre. Whatever the problem, there’s help available to support you and your family to work through it. Visit camden.gov.uk/earlyhelp for more details and how to contact the Council. To request an Early Help family check-in, visit camden.gov.uk/family-check-in-request-form
Hopscotch continues to offer support to BAME women Hopscotch Asian Women’s Centre is continuing to offer their services over the phone to any BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) women and girls. If you are a woman or girl from any BAME background, you can find free over the phone support for: • Welfare/housing/Universal Credit support • Employability skills training • Domestic violence support • Better employment to upskill while in low-paid work
Although the centre is closed to the public, 65 volunteers and staff have been helping over 100 people each week who are self-isolating, unwell or separated from family. Young people can pick up lunches from the centre on weekdays. Elderly and vulnerable families can request hot meals and individualised food parcel deliveries three times a week. Everyone – Muslims and non-Muslims – can collect a hot ‘Iftar for All’ meal at 7.30pm, every day until Saturday 23 May. QCCA volunteers also pick up medicines and offer telephone befriending.
• Support for older women • Support for teenagers. All staff are fully trained to support women and girls at this time with any worries or concerns they may have. Call 020 7388 8198 or go to hopscotchawc.org.uk for more information. Hopscotch homecare service care workers are continuing to go into homes and care for vulnerable residents – always following strict health guidance to protect themselves and the people they are caring for. They can be contacted on 020 7380 1019.
The ‘Fight C-19’ programme is funded by Camden Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) fund, the Hampstead Wells and Campden Trust, and The Conservation Volunteers (TCV). Meals are made by QCCA or partners Thomas Frank, Feast With Us, Sizzling Bombay and Milkman. During the emergency, some QCCA services are also available in NW6. Call 020 7267 6635, visit qcca.org.uk or follow @QCCA_CEO on Twitter for daily updates.
Coronavirus information in other languages and formats You can find information and advice about coronavirus in other languages on the Council’s website at camden.gov.uk/coronavirustranslations This includes Government and Public Health England advice in languages including British Sign Language, Arabic, Bengali, traditional and simplified Chinese (Cantonese/Mandarin), French, Gujarati, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romani, Romanian, Russian, Somali and Urdu. Camden community leaders have also recorded some videos providing information in Somali and Gujarati, and the Council has produced a toolkit on how community leaders can make and share similar videos. You can also find information in ‘easy read’ format for people with learning disabilities.
Further information Camden says thank you
Social distancing advice
People from around the borough are continuing to send in messages to friends, neighbours and local workers – as well as creating amazing signs. If you’d like to say thank you to someone, email camdentalking@camden.gov.uk or tweet tagging @CamdenCouncil #WeMakeCamden.
If you go outside your house to get food, medicine, or for exercise, it’s really important to continue to social distance and be considerate of others.
“I’d like to say thank you to the couple on the Belsize mutual aid group who collected a poorly dog from a shielded family and took it to the PDSA pet hospital in Hendon for them. Love shows up in Camden.” Becca “Jeff the street sweeper in WC1 is incredible. Keeps the streets around the museum immaculate…always has a cheery “Hello”. You can tell when he’s been. Spotless!” Inger
“I would like to thank Michael for being the best neighbour imaginable ... collecting my prescriptions from the pharmacy, doing shopping for me, getting me latex gloves, face masks and sanitizers, and bringing me newspapers, even mowing the lawn, and generally looking out for me while I am selfisolating at home. So, thank you very much Michael, I hope all neighbours are as thoughtful and kind as you are during these very difficult times.” Gill
• This means staying 2 metres away from people outside of your household at all times. • This includes while queuing for shops. If you can, try and avoid the busiest times or come back another time if the queue is long. • Try and avoid areas where the pavement is particularly narrow, and don’t overtake others unless there is room. To help this, TfL has temporarily widened the pavement on part of Camden High Street. TfL and the Council are also considering additional measures across the borough. • If you are with a member of your household, walk single file if needed to allow room for others to safely walk past.
Tackling period poverty The Council’s Early Help and Early Years teams have joined forces with local group Tricky Period to offer free sanitary products to those in need through Camden’s local Sure Start children’s centres. The teams will be collecting 800 packs of sanitary products from Tricky Period today (Thursday 7 May) with the aim of delivering 200 packs to four Camden children’s centres later that day.
Pay it forward to help Camden businesses Camden businesses in need of some cash flow are encouraged to sign-up to Pay it Forward, a new, crowdfunded fundraising scheme aimed at helping small businesses stay afloat during the coronavirus crisis. Launched by the Mayor of London, Pay it Forward offers businesses and their customers the chance to buy goods and
camden.gov.uk/coronavirus 020 7974 4444 (option 9)
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These will then be available to anyone who needs them via the reception staff at each centre. The teams can also deliver free sanitary products to homes if people are unable to leave the house because they are shielding or self-isolating. For more details, please contact your local children’s centre at camden.gov.uk/camdensurestart
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Keep up to date with the latest advice at nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19 For the latest information on the situation in the UK, visit gov.uk/coronavirus
services such as meals, events, haircuts and hotel bookings in advance, with the promise to deliver in the future. Residents can also nominate their local businesses and encourage them to sign-up. Over 700 businesses across the country have signed up already, and with the help of over 32,000 supporters have collectively raised over £1.5 million. For more information and to sign-up and start fundraising, visit london.gov.uk/pay-it-forward CORONAVIRUS
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