Around Ealing Coronavirus Special | Page 4

CORONAVIRUS Ealing coming together Ealing’s community is its greatest strength and, across the borough, people are standing together to help our most vulnerable residents. The council joined forces with charities, local groups, businesses and concerned residents to rapidly respond to the COVID-19 crisis and launch a new coalition called Ealing Together. E aling Together is designed to support the good work already going on in the borough. In the first five days, nearly 500 local people visited ealingtogether.org to offer to volunteer. This overwhelming response has seen a pause on volunteer recruitment, but it is highly likely that more volunteers will be needed in the coming weeks as the COVID-19 crisis develops – including asking for specific kinds of help from those with specialist skills. However, you can still use Ealing Together to give cash donations to local charities or support in another way. If you, or anyone you know, would like to do something to help, go to ealingtogether.org 4 around ealing   Coronavirus You can also use ealingtogether.org to safely request support for yourself, a vulnerable family member or someone else you might know who is isolated and struggling. A dedicated helpline has been set up on 020 8825 7170 (during office hours only) to help the most vulnerable residents who are self-isolating and need support. ‘SO MANY VOLUNTEERED’ Councillor Peter Mason, the council’s cabinet lead for Ealing Together, said: “So many people have already volunteered their time and energy to support the most vulnerable with vital supplies and tackling social isolation. We thank everyone for their kindness and generosity. We’re working fast to ensure that the network of organisations and people is strong, to carry the load. “We are rapidly scaling up our work, in partnership with established charities and organisations, as well as new mutual aid groups, to ensure everyone who needs help can get it, and everyone who wants to help knows how they can. “The first thing you should do to support this vital work and save lives is to stay at home and socially distance to stop the spread of the virus. “The second thing you can do is go to Ealing Together and tell us if you need help, or if you can help others.”