Hello all and welcome to new supporters,,
We live in fast moving times..
I suspect we've all been following the discussions about Covid19 and maybe heard the latest advice yesterady 16th March about avoiding unnecessary travel and social contact particularly for people over 70 or with other health conditions.
I had a brief email chat with our Chair and other trustees and the decisions are that 1 we will not be holding any face to face meetings and until further notice we will not be holding any welcome days.
2 We are also discontinuing our collections of goods- both of the groups[ SHARP and INeed] we usually supply are closed and it seems possible that containers may not be able to travel to the refugee camps. Also the drop in centres may close or restrict services.
BUT We are still needed in many ways to help support people seeking sanctuary .
a Contact by email/ phone with individuals known to us will be very helpful. There may be scope to set up individual links if anyone wants.
b Continuing to sign petitions and maintain contact with our elected representatives will be important so that we are able to bring concerns and campaigns to attention even during this time.
c Maintaining our hardship fund and support to individuals who will be under even greater strain[ eg Many destitute individuals rely upon drop ins for meals and these may not be forthcoming]
I'm hoping that someone can reassure me that people seeking asylum will not have to continue to share rooms if they or room mate are unwell and I wonder how people reliant upon Aspen cards will fare if they cannot shop for themselves?
d courts support if the courts still run will still be needed.
e We may still be able to supply bikes to groups able to work upon them...
We will still need money to do some of these things and wonder if anyone feels able to contribute to our funds, please?
Our major fundraising efforts are usually in May at Hay Festival and given today’s news this may not be possible. Currently we do have some reserves but these will diminish if we cannot raise funds for a number of months.
My understanding is that Covid19 has probably been circulating for at least a few months longer than currently reported and there are many asymptomatic or mildly affected cases - this site gives helpful information https://informationisbeautiful.net. and this article reflects my current thoughts.
The Trustees are considering how we maintain contact and involve supporters in decision making. We don't want to lose ground. The need for support and friendship remains essential to people seeking sanctuary as indeed to all of us. Thoughts welcome...
Meanwhile, what now seems like a life time ago, but was actually only just over a week , we had a very successful welcome day in Llangorse and thank goodness we were able to send many essentials back with individuals who attended and via Maria and Phil for people who weren't able to attend.
I'll keep you informed about changes and hope that you will all remain well and safe. Keep in touch and look after yourselves and neighbours and friends.
all good wishes,
