Stratford Group Starts Buddy Program, PPE Drive Amid Coronavirus

STRATFORD, CT — A group of Stratford residents have started an organization to support the community’s most vulnerable members amid the spread of the new coronavirus.

Stratford Mutual Aid was founded when five strangers met on a Stratford community Facebook page, according to member Jeanette Hughes. It has since grown into a Facebook group with nearly 400 members and its leaders have organized a medical equipment drive and created a buddy program that matches volunteers with people who are likely to be susceptible to the virus.

“There’s a lot of elderly people and a lot of immunocompromised people that can’t get out or are afraid to,” Hughes said.

Volunteers in the program assist their buddies with grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, online ordering and other needs.

“It’s a way to keep people in touch with other people,” Hughes said.

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Stratford Mutual Aid is also helping residents stay connected with a program that distributes letters of companionship, comfort and support to nursing home patients in town who may be isolated due to the virus. Letters can be sent to lettersoflove06614@gmail.com.

Additionally, the group is accepting donations of personal protective equipment needed to fight the virus, including: N95 respirators, disposable face masks, gowns, gloves, coveralls, scrubs, shoe covers, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer and thermometers. Donation drop-off points include Windsor Package Store, 3700 Main St., and H3 Pet Supply, 475 Hawley Lane.

“Aside from helping our local care providers, we hope that this effort will allow individuals, volunteers, and businesses a way to collectively find purpose during such an unsettling time,” Stratford Mutual Aid founder Sonya Huber said in a news release.

As of Tuesday, there were 32 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Stratford and 3,128 confirmed cases in Connecticut. The virus has drastically changed daily life, with schools and many businesses under state order to close their physical locations and police enforcing a policy that prevents residents from congregating in groups larger than five people.

To volunteer for the buddy program or to sort and deliver donated supplies, email quarantineassist.stratford@gmail.com. To join the Stratford Mutual Aid Facebook group, visit www.facebook.com/groups/StratfordMutualAid.