The Rural Community Network (RCN), who are core funded by the Community Relations Council, is delivering a special rural digital project during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In This Together 2021” will showcase local rural groups helping and supporting their communities. The project is led by RCN’s Charmain Jones.
“We are in uncertain times and there is much fear, confusion and frustration out in the community as the virus continues to rage and we enter a winter lockdown,” she said. “Messages remain: stay home, save lives and protect the NHS.”
Charmain went on to explain how the new phase of the In This Together project will provide additional help and resources.
“We understand many groups and volunteers are looking for ways to make a difference this time around again and we thought we would share some of the brilliant work of our groups with you and help you to think about what might be possible this time around,” she said. “We have also included additional information about support services that you may need.”
Building Communities Resource Centre
We’ve featured a video from Building Communities Resource Centre(BCRC) about how they’ve helped bring the community together through their outreach project.
Help and Support
Charmain highlighted the need to offer support to rural people during these difficult times brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Now we are in the midst of a second major lockdown, some community groups have contacted RCN to ask what else they can do to support rural people at this time,” she said. “The In This Together archive is a good starting point for people to see what others have done and to give inspiration to others now we are in the winter period.”
The archive is a useful resource to refer groups to see what others have done for the past nine months.
Additional Available Resources
Include below are several additional resources cited by RCN for you to explore and learn the lessons from what others have been doing during the pandemic.
Social Change Initiative
The Social Change Initiative has produced a series of excellent resources on the stories from Lockdown One in March – December 2020.
Communities and Covid: Stories and lessons from grassroots activists | Social Change Initiative
RCN’s Facebook
RCN’s Facebook page continues to update members on funding opportunities, good practice and current guidelines.
Rural Community Network | Facebook
Rural Support Networks and Healthy Living Centres
All Rural Support Networks and Healthy Living Centres are working on a “Warm, Well And Connected” project which is supporting rural dwellers across rural Northern Ireland to stay connected to locally driven help and support services.
Contact your nearest Rural Support Network or Healthy Living Centre for information.
An example is TADA Network’s page, which contains a wealth of information:
Warm, Well & Connected | TADA Support Network
Mobile data
Free mobile data increases for students without broadband or who can’t afford extra data. It includes the following providers: Smarty; EE; Tesco; Virgin Mobile; Sky Mobile; and Three. Get more info here:
Get Help With Tech Education | Gov.uk
In this Together 2020
The initial phase of the In This Together project ran during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. You can read more about the rural groups featured here: