Covid-19 : How You Can Help
Yes, coronavirus is having a major impact on all of our lives and yes, often the news does seem full of doom and gloom. There are however, lots of examples of community spirit, of people coming together to make the best of this unprecedented situation.
We are proud of the community that P-O Life has become. Even before the outbreak, neighbours (real or virtual) regularly shared information, car-pooled and lifted each others’ spirits with jokes, anecdotes and photos.
Now, a similar community is being set up by the French government : an online platform called Je veux aider (I want to help) on which you can volunteer to help the vulnerable and isolated members of your local community.
How you can help
- Participate in the delivery of essential shopping supplies to those in need
- Look after the children of health care professionals and key workers
- Communicate (via telephone, video calls or emails) with isolated or vulnerable members of the community
- Do the shopping for isolated or vulnerable neighbours
How it works
You can find out what missions are available in your area without signing up, via the Trouver une mission tab of the website.
You can search by key-word, postcode, department or area of interest. The location appears under the type of mission and the number of volunteers needed on the right.
You can then register as an official volunteer by providing your contact details and confirming your identity (for obvious security reasons).
At the time of publication, there are no requests for volunteers in the 66 department but as more and more people become aware of the platform, this is likely to change.
Staying safe
Helping others is of course important, but the government is keen to emphasis that protecting your own health is the best way to protect others.
Here are the 5 golden rules for volunteers (applicable to everyone really!):
- Maintain a distance of at least 1m from anybody you visit or volunteer with
- Take protective measures to minimise the risk to yourself and others
- Remind and explain the protective measures to others around you
- Immediately inform the association if you suspect you or the people you come into contact with are showing symptoms
- If you are over 70 or at risk, only volunteer for the distance roles
| If you know of any local charities or associations, they can also register and post missions that will then be visible to volunteers. |
