Hundreds of volunteers are ready to help self-isolaters through the Mutual Aid support group thanks to a £2,000 donation from a Redbridge Muslim organisation.
Mutual Aid support groups have sprung up all over the country in response to the spread of Covid-19 and people having to self-isolate and Redbridge is no exception.
Tanya Salinder started the Redbridge group when she was listening to the radio and heard about the great work that was going on around the country with the Mutual Aid Covid-19 groups and she realised this could be something Redbridge would benefit from.
Tanya, along with Genevieve Callanan and Habiba Alli set up a Facebook page and used existing WhatsApp groups to reach out to people across the borough to see who would be willing to help.
The group was able to secure a £2,000 donation from the Federation of Redbridge Muslim Organisations (Formo) to help purchase supplies for families who are in need and might need to self-isolate.
It also set up two hubs at Frenford Youth Club and St Gabriel’s Church in Aldersbrook where volunteer teams are sorting supplies and donations that have come in so they could be distributed wherever it’s needed.
A spokeswoman for Redbridge Mutual Aid said: “We firmly believe there are thousands of wonderful, generous individuals who are eager to step up in this difficult time and help their fellow citizens.
“We are ecstatic and so proud to be proven right, as in just three days our Facebook group has had over 1,200 people join, and we have over 200 amazing volunteers offering to donate supplies, deliver shopping, offer phone calls, and many other acts of kindness.”
The group covers 22 wards across the borough.
The volunteer efforts from Mutual Aid are alongside a number of similar projects across the borough, including a database set up by Ilford North MP Wes Streeting and Redbridge Joins Together which is led by the council.
Speaking of the multiple volunteer efforts Habiba said there needs to be a co-ordinated effort across the borough to take on the unprecedented crisis that coronavirus presents.
“We need to be unified. We need to be working across all race, colour, creed and political parties on this effort.”
You can join Redbridge Mutual Aid through its Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/200566334584467/ or reach out if you need help or know someone who needs help.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here