Write a commentMeadow and Armagh Road Community Association in conjunction with St Brigid's St Vincent de Paul are doing their bit to help the local Newry community during the Covid-19 emergency, with volunteers distributing food and fuel to local people in need.
As Noreen Rice, Treasurer, Meadow and Armagh Road Community Association explains the initiative is about helping the needy in the area.
"This is a large area. There's 600 houses that we cover from the Meadow and Armagh Road Community Association. We are trying to alleviate the poverty of food and fuel.
"As we are from the community we know our residents, we know our people. We are trying to get to as many houses. We have a Facebook page with four numbers on it. If anyone finds themselves in need all they have to do is pick up the phone and ring. It's all confidential and private. A bag or a box of food will be left to the door and that's it."
The group are covering the greater Newry area and not just the local Community Association area.
With the assistance of Kerri Morrow the group got funding from the National Lottery through Awards for All, for food and fuel during the Coronavirus crisis. Fiveways Supermarket also funded them and they have received many generous donations of food and help from people. St Vincent de Paul have contributed fruit this week. Neighbourhood Renewal willalso be supporting the initiative.
The group purchase food and oil vouchers and receive some donations as well.They phone up an oil distributer and tell them where to deliver. As Noreen explains "The people don't have to come out, they don't have to pass anything over because we have the vouchers and we split them between two oil people." They also purchase electric vouchers and help with gas for people in need.
Noreen says the group reckons the project will continue well after the next three weeks that Government has mentioned. "We reckon it will be about two months before we see the start of even places going back to work. Factories that people have lost their jobs in. You've got to remember if there's one person working in a house who had a job and they're furloughed to 80% of their wages. That's a big cut of 20%, maybe when they were already just managing to put food on the table and pay their bills."
And it's It's not just the elderly that they are helping. They are also working alongside local Foodbank, The Larder. As Noreen adds " If they find someone in dire need they will ring me, especially for fuel and we have gone as far as Cloughogue and Bessbrook."
Feedback
People that have availed of the service can't speak highly enough of it.
"They are over the moon about it. Just the fact that someone has left something at their front door and they really appreciate it, especially the bread and butter and the fruit we are getting now." Noreen says.
They are already on their third drop of assistance with a team of volunteers getting it in, unpacking and bagging it and then distributing. It takes a lot of time and they can only have 5 people working at a time due to social distancing practices.
Contact Information
If you or someone you know needs to avail of their service you can phone one of the people below and they will take your details. Remember it's completely confidential.
Brendan on 079 2645 6814
Gerry on 077 5992 8110
Noreen on 077 4348 6989
Helena 075 8114 2954
