United Way creates COVID-19 relief fund

The United Way of Northern BC has started a relief fund for the most vulnerable in the community.

"We are reaching out to community partners across Northern BC to collect information on emerging needs and to share information and resources so we can come together to do whatever we can to help," Trista Spencer, Executive Director, UWNBC, said.

"Agencies and their clients, the most vulnerable in our communities, need us more right now than ever. We are hoping the COVID-19 Relief Fund we have enabled will give people the opportunity to help in this crisis, getting direct assistance out as rapidly as possible to the people of Northern BC."

These are some of the issues that have been identified in the community.

Seniors isolation - this is a long running issue, particularly for the rural and remote region. Unfortunately, the current situation has amplified this exponentially and these seniors don't just have lack of socialization, they need food, prescriptions and personal care items to sustain a healthy way of being.

Food security - people need food and we are getting reports of food banks closing or having no food or funding to help. Many programs across the north that need to close due to social distancing, are also the opportunities that people have to get necessary food and care items. This is being reported across the region.

Capacity for community services - a significant number of responses from communities include a reduction of hours, closures of programs, or complete closure of the service agency. Resources would help them to continue to do their vital work.

Mental health & addictions - not only is there more stress on the entire population at this time, our population that deals with mental health and additions issues has become particularly vulnerable, especially with their supportive programs needing to close their doors.

Volunteer support - while there are some volunteers moving into isolation, there are others who want to help out. We are hearing that critical programs are at risk because their volunteer support has dropped or completely gone away. We are looking for the opportunities to deploy volunteers where they are needed.

"While our regular mission is to be there for the communities we serve, this global crisis has sparked us to do whatever we can in this incredibly challenging time," Spencer said.

"As we are driven to help, we know that others are looking to do the same. Our human need to connect and help is strong, but it's particularly difficult now because of the true need to distance ourselves from others."

To donate to the Unite Way of Northern BC's COVID-19 relief fund, visit the website at unitedwaynbc.ca/donate and click on COVID 19 -Fund.