County Mayor's Diary Cllr Mary Linehan Foley
Together as a community, we have shown incredible resilience and adaptability. The heroic response of volunteers, community groups, frontline workers and residents throughout our county and our country has been incredible.
I am immensely proud of how we have come together in support of each other.
Please continue to exercise CARE - Consideration, Assistance, Respect and Empathy - with our older and more vulnerable citizens. They are our family members, our neighbours and our friends. We must hold firm for their sakes. If you are cocooning or isolating, remember that Cork County Council’s Community Call Helpline remains available for you to provide practical support on 1800-805819.
Cork County Council is rolling out several initiatives to support positive ageing and wellbeing over the month ahead.
A new initiative called Turning Over a New Leaf consists of videos and tutorials which explore arts, history, and locations, particularly those that are age-friendly.
Some videos are already on Cork County Council’s YouTube page under the Creative Ireland Playlist, and more are in production to be released in the coming month. These provide a great opportunity to discover new ways of enjoying life during and long after the pandemic. Although we must adhere to restrictions in terms of where we can go, we are never restricted in what we can learn and engage in.
Cork County Council has collaborated with the Cork Older People’s Council to produce a webinar on positive ageing and elderly life during Covid-19. It’s available on the Cork County Council YouTube channel and on the corkcoco.ie website. If you have older friends, relatives or neighbours, I also ask that you share this video with them as a means of support and reassurance.
This week marks National Fire Safety Week, which has a very important message for us all. As we are spending more time at home, with many of us working from home for the first time, we need to be mindful of fire safety.
I joined Cork County Council’s Chief Fire Officer in Crosshaven for the launch of the campaign in Cork county, who shared some advice and tips on safeguarding the house.
All the information is available on firesafetyweek.ie, but the most important thing is to have a working smoke alarm and to test it regularly. The council provides community groups with 10 year battery-operated smoke alarms for distribution and installation for elderly and vulnerable residents.
Interested groups can contact Cork County Council’s Fire Service at fireinfo@corkcoco.ie.
With the onset of winter, I implore you all to look out for each other and for yourselves.
The months ahead will bring challenges, but we’ve proven what we’re capable of when we work together, and Cork County Council is here to support you.