We’re in this together - Christine Boyle, OneCity

Inspired by Amara Possian in Toronto, this week my kid and I dropped off notes to about 125 of our neighbours (we used a lot of hand sanitizer along the way), offering help or support for anyone who is vulnerable or isolated during these strange and scary times.

This week the City of Vancouver declared a state of local emergency, following the state of emergency declared by the Province. We are working with great urgency,in coordination with senior levels of governments, to address the emergency, with an initial critical focus on securing resources and support for seniors and people who are homeless or in precarious housing.

The impact is also quickly being felt by precarious workers, small businesses, single parents, and so many folks already juggling many responsibilities while living paycheque to paycheque. There are important calls for the federal government to provide increased support for workers, for the province to halt evictions, and more. I echo those calls. And in the meantime, communities are organizing to support one another. You can ask for or offer help here, or donate here.

This pandemic is making clear what was always the case: We are interdependent. We are safer and healthier when everyone is safe and healthy. Strong and well funded public services, public health systems, social safety nets, make everyone better off. We need and rely on one another.

So, wash your hands, cancel your plans, and reach out to support one another.

And, if you’re interested, you can use the note we delivered, with translation in Simplified and Traditional Chinese provided by Mark Lee, HERE or below.

With love and solidarity,
Christine

______________________________________________________________________________

Hello Neighbour,

您好, 您好,

I’m _______, one of your neighbours.

I’m sure many of you are feeling anxious about the coronavirus, especially if you’re older, work in healthcare, have a chronic illness, or don’t have time or resources to prepare.

If you need help, I’m willing to help whenever I can. Grabbing groceries, medication, or anything else that might put you at risk if you’re vulnerable to transmission.

You can email me at _______________, or call or text me at (___) ___-____.

If any of you want to create a group that can respond to requests for support from our neighbours, you’re welcome to call/text/email me too, and we can figure out a way to self organize to check in with folks, share needs, and take care of one another!

Glad to be your neighbour.

[NAME]

______________________________________________________________________________

您好，

大家可能因为近期新冠病毒的疫情而感到焦虑，尤其是年纪大、从事医务、患有慢性病等人士，也许没时间或足够的资源来为以后做好准备。

如果您属于易感染弱势群体并有需要的话，我可以尽可能提供帮助，比如替您领取购物（买菜、买药等等）或协助领取其他物资，以减少您出街接触病原的风险。

可以发邮件于 [EMAIL ADDRESS ] 或者致电、短信 [PHONE NUMBER] 与我联络。

如果您希望合作组织小组，以回应其他邻居的需求，也欢迎与我联络。我们可以一起想办法向邻居报平安、提出需求并互相照顾！

祝平安

邻居笔

[NAME]

______________________________________________________________________________

您好，

大家可能因為近期新冠病毒的疫情而感到焦慮，尤其是年紀大、從事醫務、患有慢性病等人士，也許無時間或足夠的資源來為以後做好準備。

如果您屬於易感染弱勢群體並有需要的話，我可以盡可能提供幫助，比如替您領取購物（買菜、買藥等等）或協助領取其他物資，以減少您出街接觸病原的風險。

可以發郵件於 [EMAIL ADDRESS] 或者致電、短信 [PHONE NUMBER] 與我聯絡。

如果您希望合作組織小組，以回應其他鄰居的需求，也歡迎與我聯絡。我們可以一起想辦法向鄰居報平安、提出需求並互相照顧！

祝平安

鄰居筆

[NAME]