In an effort to reach as many people as possible in this neck of the woods, today’s Era includes a flyer describing how residents can get local help during the coronavirus pandemic.
The flyer, a poster created for a Facebook group which sprung up just as the virus was starting, includes not just contact information for computer users but a telephone number that can be reached by the many without a computer or high-speed internet connection.
The Era is including the flyers to more than 6,000 subscribers at no cost.
The Facebook page is “Helping Bradford, PA, During Corona Virus.” As of Wednesday, some 1,362 people had joined the group.
The hotline, (814) 366-5901, is a recorded line where people unable to leave their homes can call and request pickup and often delivery of items such as food and medicine.
The group was created primarily to help meet the needs of people caught short by the sudden closure of schools, businesses and factories.
Chelsea Place of Bradford, who came up with the idea, said, “The people in our community have stepped up to take care of one another. We were formed in order to provide assistance, primarily to those suddenly impacted who don’t know how to navigate through available services and to help takes some pressure off of our local non-for-profits.”
While it was established to help the Bradford community, volunteers are seeing some requests from people in other towns in McKean County who are struggling to get by during this crisis, including many who worked in Bradford businesses.
The Facebook page is a connection — a two-way communication forum where people can meet and share ideas, get help or provide help, and share ideas or entertainment.
It has a sign-up for volunteers, news from a doctor’s office, pictures of face masks being sewn for local health care workers. Information and updates from Bradford Regional Medical Center and Bradford Area School District are available on The Era’s website, which is being offered free of charge as a public service during the pandemic.
On Wednesday morning, it had a post from a woman in Texas asking for help in getting groceries to her elderly grandmother who lives in the Bradford area. Quickly, she had several people offer to help make the delivery.
The page and hotline have helped get groceries for a self-employed single dad who can’t work and isn’t eligible for unemployment; provided household items to a lady recovering from a brain injury; and provided a volunteer to shop for an elderly high-risk woman who hadn’t eaten for several days and ran out of food.
It helped coordinate a recent food drive in Bradford, and distribute food boxes obtained by several local churches.
The group functions through its volunteers but works primarily with already established organizations in Bradford such as the Friendship Table, the YWCA and local churches. Its primary partnership is with Destinations, an outreach group at the head of Main Street.
The group does not accept money. Those wanting to make a donation can donate a gift card, or contribute cash to one of the local organizations involved. Most have an online presence where donations can be made.
