Coronavirus Crisis Appeal

Mencap Liverpool & Sefton need your help to support local people with learning disabilities during the Coronavirus outbreak.

Many people with a learning disability have underlying health conditions which means they are particularly vulnerable during this pandemic.  It’s absolutely crucial they stay indoors, but many live alone or with elderly parents, who are also vulnerable. 

We can understand people being confused and scared.  We’ve worked hard to encourage our members out of the house and now we’re doing the exact opposite! 

These are the challenges we’re facing 

• Looking after our mental and physical health indoors - Unfortunately, we know what social isolation does to people. Those with learning disabilities need extra support to stay physically active; anxiety and depression are far more common; and many fall prey to scams, being confused by all the different messages. 

• Reaching people who aren’t online - Our most vulnerable members don’t have broadband and rely on pay-as-you go phones. Those with smartphones quickly run out of free data and if self-isolating, have no way of topping up.   

• Ensuring members can get help when they need it. We have several members who are not able to cook for themselves. The takeaways they normally visit are either closed or insisting on contactless payments.  There is lots of help for people who are struggling, but our members don’t know about it or how to access it! 

How you can help

Volunteer 

We’re asking anyone who’s not already an existing volunteer to register via Volunteer Centre Sefton or Liverpool City Council.  This helps streamline the process, and gets you volunteering quicker. 

The two main things we need help with are 

• Befriending an isolated person via phone  
• Helping with deliveries 
• Running errands for people who can’t get out (prescriptions, electric/gas meter cards/essential food supplies) 

Please go via Sefton CVS or Liverpool City Council 

Donate 

• £3 pays for the postage & printing of one easy read pack to inform and engage with our members without internet access 
• £10 pays for a Befriending call - we might spend up to an hour on the phone if a member is struggling or if we’re likely to be the only interaction they’ll get that day. We are trying to reach over 300 people each week. 
• £20 pays for an online activity session for up to 10 people, connecting those who are online with their friends and reducing their sense of loneliness and isolation.  
• £29.30 pays for a box of basic ‘easy-cook’ food items and essential supplies 
• £50 pays for an emergency outreach visit for someone without any other form of support. 
• £300 pays for a basic 4G tablet, preloaded with data and useful apps, delivered with an easy read set-up guide. 

Fundraise - Quick Ideas 

• Host an online pub quiz for your friends (e.g. £10 to enter, half goes in for the winner’s prize & the other half in kind goes to fund our work) 
• Compete in a virtual race or challenge and get sponsors 
• Use Amazon’s Smile facility when ordering from them online, and select us as your charity ‘Mencap Liverpool & Sefton’ as 0.5% of your shop will be donated by Amazon to us 
• Ziffit - Have a clear out and donate your stuff to our fundraising page.
  Ziffit is a free online service that instantly values your books, games, DVDs, and CDs and lets you generate cash quickly, which can be donated directly to our fundraising page. 

Share 

• Step up to our challenges on Facebook @ Mencap Liverpool & Sefton 
• Get involved on Instagram @ Mencap Liverpool 
• Retweet our asks on Twitter
• Tag us and let us know what you’re getting up to with #togetherindoors hashtag 
• Share your skills, challenge our members, add to our online community  
• Speak to your team or manager about how you can possibly help our vulnerable members... this can be as little as interacting with our content online and sharing our activities all the way through to creating your own fundraising challenge!

Please get in touch if you’d like some suggestions today siobhan.waters@mencapliverpool.org.uk