Social connections

Communities find ways to maintain social connection

The usual social fabric that binds communities together has been rendered almost non-existent by efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. Physical distancing, quarantine orders, shelter in place recommendations, and limits to social gathering have meant people are far more isolated than ever before. In a normal year, this coming weekend would see family gatherings and Easter egg hunts, the always popular Rotary waterfall tour, not to mention movies, theatre and live music. But this is no ordinary year. Yet still, communities are finding creative ways to maintain social cohesion despite the limits imposed by physical distancing. On Cressy Lakeside Road, many of the residents have begun walking, and will converse—from opposite sides of the road—with anyone they might happen to meet. Cressy United Church maintains an email list that is used to communicate to about 150 people. In the church itself, there is a book and DVD share area, complete with a sanitizing station.

Members of the community have offered to pick up groceries or necessities for people who are unable to do so themselves. The minister of the church has started a project to encourage people to hang a picture or painting of a rainbow in their front windows as a sign of hope.

Kathleen Shattock holds some of the produce that customers can order online from The Counter Coffee and Kitchen in Consecon.

In Wellington on the Lake, residents began a “Make Noise at Noon” event, and this was eagerly taken up by Jenny Stewart and Heather Beaumont. They had both been leading an aerobic drumming group at the recreation centre until the facility was closed. They thought this would be a perfect opportunity to bring out their drumsticks and exercise ball and play really loud music in their driveway. Other members of the class soon joined in and now, weather permitting, a dozen or so ladies get 20 minutes of exercise and fun with music while dancing in their driveways. And since they are generally on their own property, with a few who live further away standing in the street, it does not run afoul of the five-person limit on gatherings. “Everybody loves it. They plan their day around it in terms of before drumming and after drumming,” says Jenny. “It’s a chance to get outside, get some fresh air and see some people, because there’s a lot of ‘not seeing people’ going around now. And they love the fact that hitting the ball is a great way to get stress relief. You can pretend it’s the virus and whack the crap out of it. It’s a great way to stay connected and get some exercise.”

In Consecon, Councillor Bill McMahon says that people are looking out for each other, via social media or through phone calls. Here, too, many of the residents go out walking and have conversations at a safe distance when they meet up. He says that birthday parties have taken on a new dimension. “One of the residents had her 70th birthday last week and a bunch of the women did a drive-by, honking their horns while the birthday girl stood on her doorstep. They stopped and left her presents on the lawn, and then she came out to pick them up.” He says that having the local convenience store remain open has been vital to the community, and a new grocery shopping service provided by Kathleen Shattock of The Counter Coffee and Kitchen provides some welcome help to local residents, alleviating one nowadays stressful chore. Kathleen wondered whether she could use her wholesale connections and put together fruit and vegetable boxes for people who would rather not drive the 20 minutes or more to get to a grocery store, and then be subjected to perhaps a long lineup. “As soon as I put the post on Facebook whether people would be interested, we got a huge overwhelming response,” she says. “We posted our price list last Wednesday and we had 20 orders by Friday, and it looks like we’re going to double that this week.” She tries to source products locally where possible, using Thyme and Again Gardens, Prinzen Chicken, Kaleidoscope and Fifth Town Cheese, among others. She provides a basic produce box for $30 and people pick up their orders at the coffee shop, making it a little bit of a social hub. She says she can easily expand to customers in other areas if there is interest (thecounterpec.com). “Everyone has loved it so far, the feedback has been incredible,” she says. “A lot of people were actually surprised at how much produce was actually in the basket. The community here is great and everyone has been supportive. We’re so lucky.”