Do you need food, medicine or other supplies? SLO County Facebook groups can help
The coronavirus pandemic has left many questioning how they can get basic needs and services during a time of confusion and financial struggle, as well as how good Samaritans can help local neighbors in need.
Without a single San Luis Obispo agency, nonprofit or government jurisdiction capable of tackling all of the various personal and communal concerns that have surfaced countywide — from food and medicine deliveries to vulnerable senior citizens to sanitary supply worries — several community groups have popped up to fill the gaps.
After two groups called HelpSLO and Support Los Osos formed about a week and a half ago, several similar community forums have emerged across SLO County from Paso Robles to the South County.
Volunteer efforts include pickups for homebound residents, lining up childcare for frontline workers and those impacted by school closures, collecting food donations for those in need, and directing people to resources, in English or in Spanish.
The community forums have Facebook pages, and most have websites to provide useful information and match requests with needs.
“It obviously met a need that I didn’t know was such a need,” said Leah Wood, who established the group HelpSLO. “I didn’t have a background in this. I just naively assumed there would be an infrastructure for it, and clearly there wasn’t a single place to go for help with a lot of different things.”
How the community help groups started
Wood, a Cal Poly School of Education associate professor and mother of three children, said she started her Facebook page on March 14, adding 30 friends. Since then, the group has ballooned to more than 5,700 members.
And the grassroots effort helped launch six other groups on the Central Coast, which have banners on the www.helpslo.com website linking people to resources in their respective areas: HelpFiveCities, HelpAtascadero, HelpTempleton, HelpNorthCoast, HelpSantaMaria and HelpPasoRobles.
Wood said many of the requests include questions and comments around access to food and distilled water, as well as other basic supplies. Wood and her team help connect volunteers to those with requests.
A recent post read: “Does anyone know where to find baby formula? Close to running out and need some please.”
The post had more than 30 comments with suggestions about stores and suppliers. Even a baby formula company representative responded, offering help.
Others include inquiries about where people might get disinfectant wipes or toilet paper after finding those products sold out at many stores — with numerous responses offering the latest tips on what SLO County stores are best stocked.
In one post, site visitors are directed to a SLO County government link where self-isolating residents and seniors can fill out a survey for assistance with receiving delivered goods.
Another commenter offered suggestions for helpful website links from a teacher for virtual work collaboration, noting some educators “are struggling to switch to online methods.”
A number of posts provided information and suggestions for knitting masks for medical professionals, some of whom are running short on personal protective equipment.
Wood said she had a small team to help her connect volunteers with people in need.
“In a place of fear, it’s nice to be able to grab onto something tangible,” Wood said “It’s not just something that’s fearful. It’s being productive.”
SLO County groups finding ways to help
Around the same time HelpSLO emerged in the early onslaught of COVID-19 precautions, Los Osos resident Quinn Brady started a separate, similar group called “Support Los Osos.”
Like others in San Luis Obispo County, Brady created a food pantry out of a free little library box, and has field numerous requests and offers of support for food donations.
The Los Osos Facebook forum provides direction to community resources, including the Food Bank and free meals from schools.
Brady said the goal of her group, which includes another Facebook site administrator moderating posts, is to provide factual information from reliable sources and link people to the right services.
“We had a call yesterday from a Spanish-speaking family,” Brady said on Monday. “The dad was laid off and the mom was working half time and they can’t afford food. There are many people in our community now who are low income and facing not being able to buy groceries. ... Some people don’t know the schools are still providing free meals.”
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Ellen Gaver, an Arroyo Grande resident who manages the HelpFiveCities group and its 1,000-plus members, said they’ve connected people to books for a little boy who ran out of reading material at home.
A South County resident with chickens offered eggs, given a lack of the product on the shelves of many stores. And a rancher with horses was in need of help after a worker quit, and her stalls were in a state of disarray.
“It’s amazing what people need and how the community has come together to offer help,” Gaver said.
In Atascadero, Abel Aguilar of En Soliel Pharmacy posted on HelpAtascadero on Monday: “We still have toilet paper and compounded hand sanitizer in stock. We also have baby wipes, Tylenol tablets and liquid, children’s ibuprofen, facial tissues and more. Any issues finding anything, please reach out.”
SLO County Adopt a Neighbor groups
In Morro Bay, Giovanni DeGarimore — a member of a longtime seafood-purveying family and owner of various businesses including Giovanni’s Fish Market — has launched a collection of Adopt a Neighbor Facebook groups that he hopes will connect those in need with people who can help.
DeGarimore posted his desire to lend a hand on his personal Facebook page, offering to shop or assist others however he could.
“Listen, people have their kids out of school, some of them need a meal, a gallon of milk, a box of cereal,” he said. Senior citizens needed supplies, and others have other needs to fill.
“I wanted them to ask me directly,” DeGarimore said, so he could find a way to fill those needs. “But I knew I had to make it really easy for people to use, to put helpers together with help-ees.”
Within a very short time, he knew the post had hit a nerve, because it had gotten “300 likes and 80 comments,” he recalled on Thursday.
So, cellphone in hand, he launched the Adopt a Neighbor — Morro Bay group on Facebook. As of Friday afternoon, the group had nearly 300 members and was still growing.
“It’s in our nature as humans to want to help people,” DeGarimore said. “I’ve always been blessed, always had a meal on the table, so I have a heart for those who have less or who need help.”
Very quickly, DeGarimore realized that other communities had the same communication need, so he launched Adopt a Neighbor groups in Cambria, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles and Atascadero.
The groups are so popular, he’s now looking for moderators for some of them, because the effort has become too large for one already-busy person to manage.
As of March 20, the San Luis Obispo group had 1,300 members, Paso Robles had more than 560, Atascadero’s had more than 470, the Morro Bay group had nearly 300 and more than 110 people had signed up for Cambria’s group.
DeGarimore hopes the Adopt-a-Neighbor concept will continue to spread and survive even after the COVID-19 crisis is over.
“Social media can be a waste of time, but this is where it can shine,” he said.
There are other help-each-other groups online that have a similar or related purpose. Search for “Neighbors” and “RUOK,” among other topics. The Nextdoor groups also can serve that purpose, but members must be invited to join by someone who’s already part of the group.
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
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