COVID-19's strain brought these London charities together, now they're helping even more people

When Jennifer Martino looks back on the last seven weeks since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold it's with a mix of pity and intense pride. 

The pride comes from the fact that the executive director of the Crouch Neighbourhood Resource Centre and her team were able to create an opportunity out of a potential disaster. 

"We lost access to our space on very short notice when the library shut down. Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre was kind enough to open their doors and we decided by working together we can service many more people in our community than working alone," Martino said. 

Now, the two non-profit agencies have started a delivery service together, taking emergency aid packages of fresh produce and hygiene products to London families in the Hamilton Road and Pond Mills areas who wouldn't ordinarily have them. 

Need for emergency food has quadrupled

The pity Martino feels however, comes from the fact that no matter no how much they've overcome and no matter how hard or well the two non-profits work together, the surge in demand during this unprecedented health crisis just seems to keep growing.

In their first week, the two groups were delivering aid packages to 40 households, now it's 160 households or 400 people. 

"It's a pretty significant jump in a seven week time period. That's not the kind of jump in demand you want to see, of course," she said. 

Charity groups like these are an important part of the city's social safety net, providing fresh food, resources and help to people who would otherwise fall through the cracks. The problem is the COVID-19 pandemic is straining their ability to help, forcing some non-profits to trim back their aid delivery when it's needed most.

In this case however, the two groups have found that by pooling their resources, they can help even more people than they would going it alone. 

"It's been amazing to see people pivot and meet a need we didn't expect," she said. "A lot of the people we're serving now are first-timers."

Martino said many of the people they're helping include families who have lost income because of the pandemic, seniors with health issues or the people with disabilities who are afraid or unable to leave their homes during the crisis.

One story in particular stuck out for Martino about a man who lost his job during the pandemic and could no longer afford rent. He was forced to squeeze his wife, newborn baby and two teenagers into his mother's two-bedroom bungalow. She said the elderly mother was beside herself. 

Packages include food, books, cleaning supplies

"She was stressing not just about food supplies, but also things to keep these kids entertained," she said. 

It's why the packages include not just food, but books, cleaning supplies, even hygiene products. Whatever a family may need, the two charities are willing to deliver. 

"Even something as simple as shampoo and conditioner. Those are the kinds of requests that are coming in on a weekly basis," she said. 

It's a lot of work, but the reason the two non-profits are able to pull it off is because they have a large amount of volunteers, including the employees of London armsmaker General Dynamics Land Systems, who have offered help with sorting and delivery during the pandemic. 

"This week we had the most deliveries we've ever done, but we've also had the most volunteers. Going into week seven, we're feeling a lot better about it. The supports are starting to come through with the funding," Martino said.

Hard to maintain robust food inventory

That includes a $20,000 donation announced by the United Way earlier this week to help bankroll the large amount of food they go through each week to keep families from going hungry. 

"It's hard to maintain the food levels we need," she said. "Traditionally, non-profits rely on food donations and we work all year round and with the London food coalition. With less access to food, we've needed to purchase food in large volumes for the first time," she said. 

"It has been a leaning curve and, certainly, when you scale from 40 packages and a couple dozen people to these 400 people we're getting a week now, there's a lot of flexibility that is needed but we're finding we're having a bigger impact."

Martino said there is still more work that needs to be done. They're taking donations through an online campaign because no matter how many supplies they deliver, people always seem to need more.