In March 2020, as the country went into the pandemic lockdown, the Tapestry services that support Paines Brook Court residents were forced to change. The Court is an extra care development, and many residents made good use of the Tapestry Day Centre and restaurant as an important aspect of their daily support. The changes involved were fundamental – the support services now had to go to residents individually and safely rather than residents coming to the services.

The people who would normally attend the Day Centre were switched to regular support calls on their usual days. Tapestry would check how they were and if they needed any supplies or activities to keep them occupied while the country was in lockdown. 

As the pandemic deepened Tapestry created a virtual programme for Paines Brook Court residents to participate in.  The programmes are offered free and include weekly keep fit classes, hip-hop chair dancing, quizzes, sing-a-longs, art classes, musical performances and even cooking classes.  For those who don’t have the technology, Tapestry has loaned devices to people so they could access the activities. 

Hot food to your door

The importance of food in keeping people well in body and mind was quickly realised. Whilst Tapestry could not offer the communal eating experience of the restaurant during the pandemic it could still ensure everybody ate well. Tapestry decided to make best use of the onsite kitchen and the talented cooking team to begin a hot food delivery service for Paines Brook Court residents and beyond. A freshly cooked meal was prepared and delivered to the residents every day from March 2020 until July 2021 when the restaurant was safe to reopen again. During this time over 2,200 meals have been delivered including special deliveries on all the bank holidays and, of course, a Christmas dinner. 

With the welcome onset of the vaccine programme Tapestry offered its transport service to Paines Brook Court residents to take them to appointments so they could receive their jabs. The end of restrictions was in sight. During lockdown, the relationships between the peoples of Tapestry and Paines Brook Court are ones that have grown in different ways. Nobody wants to do everything all together or keep everything totally personal. The lockdown has shown that we can do things both ways – food at home or in the restaurant, a virtual activity programme or a face-to-face one. Those choices are important as the partnership with Housing 21 and Tapestry extends.