Golden Bay Weekly 27 March 2020

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Friday 27 March 2020

Leaders coordinate support

No more business as usual: Commercial Street, Takaka at 9.30am on Wednesday morning, hours before lockdown. Photo: Anita Peters. JO RICHARDS

By the time the Government declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, Golden Bay was already setting up systems to deal with the coronavirus crisis. On Tuesday afternoon some order emerged from the chaos of the impending lock-down. At the Rec Centre around 20 community leaders assembled for the first meeting of the Community Coordination Group (CCG). Their goal: To achieve coordinated efforts for the vulnerable and to share, coordinate and channel information about volunteer networks. The instigator of the initiative is General Manager Te Whare Mahana Trust Tony Keatley, who identified the need for a coordinated and compassionate approach to managing the support networks that will help the Golden Bay community get through the crisis. The group is made up of representatives from the following organisations: GB Community Board, TDC, GB Community Health, FreshChoice, Mohua Social Services, WINZ, GB schools, DOC, Civil Defence, Police and GB Pharmacy. One of the key outputs of the meeting is the decision to adopt a hierarchy of responses,

starting with “natural” support structures, such as neighbours, phone trees and Facebook groups as well as the more formal U3A, Age Concern and Lions. “A lot of people are already connected,” says Tony, “We want them to access and activate their local support networks. This is so important moving forward.” Stepping up a level in the hierarchy, Tony says that the CCG is seeking to coordinate an army of volunteers to provide support to vulnerable members of the community. Tony explains these volunteers will be tasked to deliver food and medicines, and says coordination is key. “Mohua Social Services will act as a hub, matching volunteers with those who need them.” MSS will continue to operate the food bank and is seeking donations of food and cash to meet rising demand. To prevent staff being overwhelmed, Tony urges people to contact MSS by phone or email if possible. “They will be open Monday to Friday 10am-12pm.” Staff at Golden Bay Pharmacy are playing a crucial role in keeping the Bay supplied with essential medicines and they have teamed up

with Community Mental Health who will use volunteers to deliver to vulnerable residents, if their natural support networks are unable to help. Tony stresses the need to respect the support hierarchy. “We will try to reserve the volunteers for the most vulnerable and isolated; this will be especially important should there be a community outbreak, which we think is likely.” The top level in the hierarchy is the range of professional services, such as medical staff, and the tiered structure is designed to prevent them from being overwhelmed. “It’s to take the pressure off,” says Tony. Although most of the focus in the COVID-19 battle is on physical well-being, Tony says that the anxieties and experience of forced isolation will take its toll on mental health, and this is a particular concern for youth. “They will struggle in social isolation.” He points out that anxiety is being stoked by fear mongering, fake news and the conspiracy theories that are infecting social media. “People should take their information from the Government’s information website.” Continued on page 2

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THE GB WEEKLY, FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2020

COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented use of the word “unprecedented” but that just reflects the nature of the microscopic beast that is causing havoc across the world. While the world is battling to protect its way of life, here in a little corner of Aotearoa, The GB Weekly is determined to play its small part in helping our local community get through. To our readers: We know that people are becoming isolated and many businesses have closed down, but we will do our best to keep you connected, informed and entertained. Our printer is continuing to print, our courier Tony Gillan is still driving over the Hill and rural delivery drivers are keeping going along with our agents. For as long as this is the case, you will receive your GB Weekly in your mailbox every Friday. While there is clearly going to be a lot of serious news, we would like to mix it up with lighter content, so please let us know if you have a story for us. As our entire team is working from home, we may not be able to talk to you in person, so we will use phone, email and online video as appropriate. And, while we are all working in our virtual bubbles, the paper will be in real, hard copy. To our advertisers: We thank you for your support and totally understand that most businesses will not want to advertise during the lockdown period – and we don’t want you to spend your money with us when you are receiving no return. For those businesses and essential services still operating, we remind you that nothing reaches out to our community like The GB Weekly. So please consider us as a platform to spread your messages. We have often said, that without you there would be no GB Weekly – and this is true, but in the short term, irrespective of our advertising revenue we will continue to publish. And we will be there for you when we have all got through this crisis and we return to some kind of normality. Take care, be kind: We are lucky to be living in a rural environment and in such a close community which is now coming together to provide essential support to those in need. But we can’t let agencies and volunteers carry the entire burden; we all need to look after our neighbours, take care of each other and be kind. Jo Richards, Charlotte Richards, Nicola Wells

Please let us know if you’d like your regular ad to continue or be put on hold Email: admin@gbweekly.co.nz by 5pm Monday 30 March

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