Ever since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, several Guelph Facebook groups have emerged to offer helping hands to complete strangers in the community.
“We all need to stand together to take care of one another,” said Nicole Amanda, who created a Facebook group to help elderly and immune-compromised people.
While there have been no confirmed cases in Guelph, Amanda said she created the group after she saw the panic-purchasing that has taken over.
“I saw a bunch of elderly people with empty carts and I saw people kind of standing back and flabbergasted at the line in the grocery store and the craziness and how empty all the shelves were,” said Amanda.
She said she wanted to make sure that those who weren't strong enough to deal with the situation take a stand to care of those who are struggling with the crisis physically and mentally.
“I would just like people to check on their elderly neighbours, those with babies, those that are struggling and their immune system is not the greatest, to ask if there’s something that they need and if there’s something that they can grab,” said Amanda.
Groups such as Adopt-a-Senior are creating and delivering care kits to seniors on the community out of a fear that elders in the community might not be looked after well enough during the pandemic.
The group is collecting toilet paper, kleenex, cleaning products, canned food, pasta and frozen food.
An anonymous Guelph community response page is also offering information on various items food banks in the community need.
Monica Pease, creator of the Facebook group CareMongering Guelph said as a registered social worker and a mental health therapist, she has a natural inclination towards support groups and as a result, created CareMongering Guelph to provide a space where people can find help in their community.
Members in the community flooded the group with offers to help complete strangers such as running grocery errands, offering rides, free tutoring services while schools are closed, language translation services, and dog-walking services among many more.
She said she created the group on Saturday morning and by the afternoon, there were over 350 members.
“It was just one after the other,” said Pease.
Right now the group stands at 770 members, and due to the overwhelming response, Pease decided to shut down her group and redirect members to another group called Guelph Community Care which was created on March 13 and saw 1,431 members and counting within four days. The group was created specifically for the community to lean on one another during the pandemic. It has since been renamed CareMongering Guelph-Leaning Into Community During COVID-19.
“It's beautiful and frightening all at once,” said Pease about the increasing community support during this time of crisis and panic.
“I work in mental health. I had someone reach out to me who is from the group CareMongering in a panic,” said Pease about an anonymous woman struggling with anxiety while dealing with COVID-19.
“She couldn’t regulate herself. I never met her, I don’t know how she is. But she actually reached out and that’s really a huge challenge for folks who have anxiety. To ask for help from a stranger. I’ve never done that before,” said Pease, who later provided the woman with breathing strategies during a crisis situation.
Pease said there is a clear rise in anxiety while dealing with COVID-19 visible in the group.
“You have this vicarious anxiety that you absorb from hearing other people’s stories. So everybody else is doing that. Its a compound effect on all levels of coping,” said Pease.
“I see it in our own household,” said Pease adding that the anxiety is affecting her as well despite working in the mental health field.
She said when anxiety levels increase, it affects people’s daily jobs and routines and this is why these groups are beneficial because the community spirit helps balance the significant uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
