Residents What’s App group

[moominmomma1234]

A poster on here mentioned she had started a what’s app group for the people living on her road.
I am thinking of doing the same , do any of you knowledgable preppers know if this is a good idea for when the SHTF?
Is it good to keep in touch with neighbours , to keep a sense of community and rally around each other , or will it ultimately lead to more stress and burden when we are knowing how much everyone else is struggling and When stocks have become so low we are helpless to help each other.

Basically , do I just concentrate on me and my family for the next couple of months or concentrate on our community ? I have an urge to look out for everyone I know, esp those that haven’t prepped for lockdown,

but I don’t want to start something that I will find myself in too deep and not even be able to help anybody when they really need it !

Should add , I don’t know many people on my road

I would definitely be focused on supporting those around me and not just my immediate household BUT what would the aim of the group be? Is it to share ie “anyone got two eggs”, to moan about the local area (as it can end up like that), to offer help when someone needs their lawn cutting etc.

I don’t know really What it could be used for , I would like some suggestions on how it could be used for the greater goood ,
Maybe to ask for supplies if somebody is self isolating, maybe to share supermarket deliveries if slots are hard to get . I know there is a mix of families and single parents , we are in an area with no shops,

There are some old folks bungalows here too, now they won’t have what’s app but maybe I could put my phone number through each dooor ? I am not a very social person but I do feel I need to help people

We’ve got a fb group which I quite like - it’s not as full on/“invasive” as WhatsApp, and is easier to have different posts for different conversations - with WhatsApp it can always get a bit chaotic if Brian, Jill and Marie are talking about bins but James, Fiona and Bob are talking about parking. More people are Fb as well.

We actually have been talking on ours about how we can support each other through the next few weeks - in the past with snow etc it’s worked well with people asking if anyone has any milk spare etc. Someone on the group was talking about posting a note through all the doors with a number offering to help with bits and pieces, which can then be shared on the group to see who can help.

At the moment it’s more along the lines of if people usually potter to the local co-op; those of us that can drive can get something from the shops further away if something is unavailable locally.

It looks like the government are going to start advising vulnerable people to stay home so we would need to be careful about not exposing them to risk when trying to be helpful!

There's an app called Nextdoor I've just joined which is for neighborhood news and chat. I'm a bit meh about giving out my street address on it, though, and it may not get tons of take-up in the UK.

But some way of keeping in touch with neighbors is a great idea.

Thank you, good tips , actually I might consider fb

Our village uses Nextdoor too. There are plenty of messages already with people offering to do shopping etc for those stuck at home.

Yes, our village is now using Nextdoor too. You can put just the name of your road and not the house number if you wish but mine is such a small village, there's not much point. However, we have started to organise.

I set up a WhatsApp group. I only really speak to my immediate neighbours.

I set it up so perhaps we could help get people that are isolating, food etc.

I also hope that perhaps something positive will come out of it, perhaps make new friends and actually speak to more people in my road!

I put some notes through the doors of the ones I didn't know. About half have responded.

I've been on a whatsapp group with my friends. At the moment we're using it for general chat about what's going on, but also to keep our eyes open for things eachother need, or giving ideas about things that might have been overlooked to buy.

OP, I do know what you mean about helping but not overcommitting. I'm a mini prepper but have prepped for this in terms of shopping and my own immune system, as I've had pneumonia twice and was very ill with it. I know we all have to shop, but I'm getting twitchy about avoiding social contact. My Mum has only just realised why I've been on about prepping all this time. Now I keep getting dribs and drabs of stuff she's worrying about. We have a lot of elderly in the road as well, it's going to be a fine balance of helping others but avoiding the shops which I prepped for. On the other hand, my Mum has absolutely no one else, so maybe keeping healthy for her is the priority over others.

I would love to help other people too, but I also feel priority is to stay well for the vulnerable people I look after.
I saw a good post on Facebook about vulnerable people being A, those looking after them being B, and the rest of the population being C.
It is vital for B to stay healthy, aided by the Cs, in order to look after and not infect A.
I thought it was quite profound.
Difficulty is that there is such a crossover, but it makes me feel better, being a B.
I feel I'm already doing my bit.

This would be my idea of hell.
Not that I wouldn’t want to help anyone but I couldn’t be doing with it.

We have had one for a while in our street though we do all get on well anyway, street parties, etc. It has been invaluable for helping each other and I have found it great during self isolation as I have been brought food and offers of help from my lovely neighbours. I think it builds community and we need that