The humanitarian campaign to feed, clothe and support Newham’s most vulnerable residents during the Covid-19 emergency targeted thousands of people facing isolation and poverty.

More than 10,000 people In Newham received direct support in the critical months of March-July thanks to the work by an army of volunteers mobilised by community support groups and Newham Council. The exact numbers are not clear because some organisations did not record everyone who received support.

While much solidarity was rooted in the neighbourhood networks organised by social media activists using WhatApp and Facebook groups, #HelpNewham, an unprecedented council alliance with voluntary organisations, food banks and social support groups, played a major role.

Darius Baird Darius Baird, 27, manager of main support hub at Stratford Town Hall

This working partnership rapidly agreed a humanitarian selection process to identify Newham’s most vulnerable people – the homeless, the elderly and infirm living alone, people shielding from coronavirus and low income families at risk.

Darius Baird, 27, manager of main support hub at Stratford Town Hall, said:

“This has been an incredibly rewarding experience. There’s a great sense of community spirit, of putting our arms around the community.”

Hubs based at Stratford, St Marks Community Centre, in Beckton, and East Ham Library sent urgent food parcels to around 8,000 borough residents. From Stratford alone, Darius and his colleagues organised, packed and dispatched around 750 parcels every day.

In a military-style operation, food arrived in bulk from the Deptford-based warehouse of the charity Fair Share which collects surplus supermarket goods. It was then sorted and packed into individual parcels by volunteers for delivery by taxi or minibus to households in need.

Darius, whose day job is working as a Community Neighbourhood Officer for East Ham, was one of around 60 Council staff redeployed to support the #HelpNewham project. Some of them, such as traffic wardens, who joined the operation while their work was suspended, found it particularly enjoyable.

Darius said:

They tell me – Wow! To get a smile from a resident’s face is just great.” But they are not alone. For everyone it has been a terrific experience.

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