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Community Friends
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ADMINISTRATION
The structure and administration of Community Friends needs to be
sound but simple. All necessary safeguards must be incorporated as many
of the members of Community Friends may be individuals living on their
own.
The practical side of Community Friends will be "little cells" of three
or four individuals in neighbouring streets who meet in their own homes
for coffee or sharing meals. These "little cells" can be linked at a
very local level. The local groups of Community Friends will then come
under the "umbrella" organisation of Community Friends. Perhaps the
"umbrella" organisation can be part of an established organisation.
A web site, e-mails and forum will be the main means of communication.
One of the aims of Community Friends will be to encourage the use of
computers and the Internet.
Funding for Community Friends will be a mixture of grants and funds
raised by members of Community Friends.
ACTIVITIES
The activities of Community Friends will probably be as diverse as the
number of "little cells". They will include social activities, anything
from sharing meals to a call in times of crisis or celebration.
There can be computer buddies, where CFs e-mail each other and teach
each other skills. Community Friends' computer buddies will also include
those with the skills to fix computer problems and ensure virus
protection is in place.
An aspect of remaining in one's own home can mean one has a garden. This
can be a blessing if it is maintained. Unmaintained it can be an advert
that there is a vulnerable person living in the house as well as being
upsetting. Gardening Together brings together those interested in
gardening, sharing seeds and plants and produce, finding new ways to
care for the garden and perhaps making links with local allotment
groups.
In my own garden I have some raised beds in which I am using "the square
foot gardening method", which reduces the effort needed. Some raised
beds were specifically built when alterations were made to my house to
accommodate a wheelchair but others are made out of old baths which
would otherwise have gone to the tip.
Community Friends will share their hobbies and crafts. The creative
abilities of Community Friends can be turned into financial resources
through the Internet, sharing the proceeds between the individuals and
administrative costs of Community Friends.
SERVICES
Community Friends will not be providing the services but information
about people who do provide services. I think something along these
lines is available to employees of organisations like county councils.
Transport appears to be one of the biggest problems for people who have
restricted mobility and no family member easily available to provide
transport. A Community Friends Internet forum could be created to
discuss the issue and find what is preventing solutions. On a simplistic
level, there are a lot of cars out there, there are a lot of people out
there, just a few are needed for the solution.
WEBSITE
The website would be in two parts, a public section about community
friends and the members section. Maintenance of the web site would be an
ongoing facility needing resources.
LINKS
Community Friends would have links to a number of local
organisations.
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