In a time of isolation, one community league group is working to keep people together.
A group of volunteers from the Queen Alexandra neighborhood are spearheading a community league project to help residents during the pandemic. The Queen Alexandra COVID-19 Response is dedicated to connecting residents and helping those who need it with everything from shoveling to dog walking.
“Essentially, we’re just trying to help our community with any needs that arise related to COVID,” said Monique Scheelar, one of the main organizers.
One of the goals of the group is to ensure residents in isolation are able to get necessities.
“We had a woman that needed a battery for her thermometer to check her for symptoms,” Scheelar said, adding that a local delivery service could take a few days or have fees associated with it.
“We’re really just neighbours helping neighbours with anything right now,” she said.
The idea sprung from posts on a Facebook group for the neighbourhood a few weeks ago.
Scheelar, who owns her own consultant firm, connected with Maya Shmulevitz, an associate professor of virology at the University of Alberta, and Tamara Kulyk, a government employee, to start planning.
“It evolved from the three of us just kind of figuring out how to do a broad reach out to everyone in the community,” Kulyk said. Over 1000 flyers were delivered throughout the neighbourhood.
The response team has several projects on the go, including reaching out to local businesses to see if they are still open and developing a list for residents to check.
They’re also putting together food hampers.
“With people maybe losing jobs, there might be some financial gap in the next few weeks or months,” Scheelar said.
Volunteers are being outfitted with personal protective equipment kits, which include information on proper sanitization and safe handling for activities like grocery delivery or prescription pickup.
The team of volunteers is growing, now at upwards of 70. Volunteers are verified, often through signals like a sign in the window of their house, and assigned a role to help a nearby resident in need.
“It is a bit of a puzzle,” Scheelar said. “But it’s kind of fun too, like a matchmaking service.”
Residents of communities like Allendale and Hazeldean have also reached out to jump-start their own COVID-19 response teams.
“They can use everything we’ve developed as a model,” Kulyk said.
“It’s just that drive to know that you’re still able to help your community even if you’re not allowed to be around people.”