Despite socially distancing in Essex for the foreseeable future, I've been keen to stay involved and active through volunteering. Luckily, my local area seems to be blessed with a large number of Covid-19 mutual aid groups for me to join!

The operation is simple: someone contacts a call handler for my local area, who takes down the name and contact details of the person to be helped along with details of what needs doing. They then post details of the job in the most geographically appropriate WhatsApp group (to give you an indication, I'm a member of 7 groups, which cover a 4km radius north of my home).

Yesterday, I volunteered to give Mr P a phone call today to check up on him.

It only took a brief 10 minutes to be reassured that Mr P has plenty of food in his home (phew!), and to find out that some recent medication for a chest infection from the doctor is disagreeing with him (boo!). After a little more chit-chat, I offered to call back later in the week to see if he needs a new prescription picked up, and to see if he needs any food or essentials. It was a simple offer, but seemed to place his mind at rest: There are people out here to help, and he won't be forgotten 😊