Hello! There's no point in me rewriting what has already been written, so for the latest update, here is a post from Lewisham Donation Hub. Latest Facebook Post
For those not on Facebook, I've also copied and pasted the text here, but I'd encourage those who are on Facebook to comment, like and share their post.
Thank you again for your energy and time. I'm sure you'll need no encouragement to continue to support LDH, as they are the ones fighting, organising and doing the hard work.
"IN LEWISHAM, WE LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND
Huge thanks to Jamie Moreland from BBC London for coming to visit our hub. He got a rapid insight into the problems we've been facing, with a succession of people in differing kinds of hardship being unavoidably turned away...
As he was packing up his camera gear, we had a phone call from Cllr Kevin Bonavie (who has been championing our efforts to reopen). The long and the short of it...we can near enough fully reopen tomorrow, with your amazing community donations getting to see the light of day once more. They will also, once again, be available from our Covid secure outdoor area �
The fundamental change versus our prior setup is that we will now be quarantining your donations for 72 hours, and will also request that any items picked from our rails are taken away (or placed into quarantine). Whilst this isn't something the major retailers are doing, we are more than happy to make it work. We have the donation volumes and the volunteers - and ultimately, it helps keep those we support safe from Covid.
There are also a number of smaller but well advised additions that were suggested to us by the Environmental Health department at Lewisham Council . We thank them for working with us and getting this community resource open once again...
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VICKY FOXCROFT MP
We've been pretty terrible over the last few days at picking up messages (you've overwhelmed us!). One important message that slipped through the net was from our local MP, Vicky Foxcroft. Our near half hour chat this afternoon was really illuminating, particularly in relation to the surge in cases of hardship that her office is seeing (mirroring our own experience).
We look forward to working with her office over the next few days in the hope of trying to address the problems with the law that resulted in us being shut down for so many days (and during such a cold spell). Given the people we support, it's also reassuring to have a direct connection to an MP who welcomes refugees and other marginalised groups as much as we do.
Ultimately, the laws that govern us must be framed in a way that protects the well-being of those in most hardship. Any law that advocates 'click and collect' but does not easily allow for wide-ranging support services such as ours really needs amending. We stand with Vicky in her efforts to bring this needed change.
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⚡ ADAPTING ⚡
We probably won't be able to take a big volume of donations next weekend as we are going to need to clear one of our rooms to make it suitable for quarantine. But once we're up and running, we'll most likely be taking big quantities of men's, women's and children's clothes - along with a more limited array of other items.
To all of you that came yesterday with a bounty of food, nappies, period products and laptops...THANK YOU! We now have a good supply of food ready for the people that will no doubt be needing our support tomorrow.
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THANK YOU
We can't express how grateful we are for your support across social media, and for the incredible response to Roisin's petition (which is now almost 3,500 signatures strong). We've always considered Lewisham to be a very special place; your actions over the last few days really demonstrate that to be the case.
(We still need your signatures: http://chng.it/Tdqc9t4D )
As you may also have noticed, we aren't afraid to rock the boat. We will continue standing in defence of those whom we seek to serve, and will support our council should they need to defend the decision they have made in giving us this right to operate.
We continue to feel extremely privileged to be in a position to help; and to have you standing with us. We are far from perfect...and have much to improve (sorry if we've said we'd collect, deliver or support you and have yet to do so!). But we will continue to do as much as we can for as many people as we can...
#thisislondon #WeStandTogether #community"