Delivering Care in Times of Covid
A parcel of essential and wellbeing items delivered with aroha and compassion may be just what the doctor orders if you or someone in your family tests positive for COVID-19.
The care packs are being made and distributed by Kindred Family Services, with funding supplied by the Ministry for Social Development.
Each box contains essential items to help when people are at home, recovering from COVID and unable to head out, including things like paracetamol, vapor rub, lozenges, hand sanitiser, tissues, honey, wheat packs, wellbeing cards and boredom busters like playing cards and activity packs for children.
Katie Hillebrand is coordinating the project for Kindred Family Services. She says it’s been a great way to focus her energies while her face-to-face work with clients has quietened down.
“It’s been a really lovely project to be involved with because as well as the obvious kindness these packs will deliver for people who’ll be at a really low ebb, stuck at home with COVID, it’s also been a great way to give a boost to so many local businesses who’ve been doing it really tough.”
Katie Hillebrand with one of the COVID care packs.
Katie says many of the suppliers have topped up with donations, samples or discounts where they can. “There’s a really nice sense of community about it,” she says, “when I’ve approached the business owners who had had their doors shut for so many weeks during lockdown they were thrilled to find way to give back and provide their service.”
She says it’s difficult to know what the demand will be, but as Auckland and the rest of the country transitions to the traffic light system of managing COVID, it’s likely the there’ll be an increased need as cases continue to spread.
“We know COVID is in our community, so what’s really important is making sure those people don’t feel isolated even when they are in isolation, and instead they feel looked after and thought about.”
Anyone in need of a pack will be able to contact Katie directly on katie@kindredservices.org.nz, or phone 09 420 7992. Local GPs will also be able to request packs on their patients’ behalf.