Remember, Carers Support West Sussex is here to support you through these difficult times. Get in contact with us so we can provide you with help, support and guidance: 0300 028 8888.
We have assembled this list of resources to help you stay informed, calm, healthy and entertained.
Official information and resources
When you do seek out updates, make sure to get them from a trusted source.
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) provide the latest statistics, news and updates, as well as providing advice and resources.
- The UK government’s website provides the official government response and guidance, including self-isolation and travel advice.
- The NHS website provides the most up-to-date and reliable health advice, plus an online questionnaire for those concerned they have the symptoms of coronavirus.
- Answers from the UK government to frequently asked questions about coronavirus
- Coronavirus information in 35 languages from Doctors of the World.
- Get Safe Online guide to avoiding online Coronavirus-related scams.
- Create an emergency support plan for your pets from the RPSCA, and read their latest updates here
Local resources
- Visit West Sussex County Council’s hub for up-to-date information on local services
- An interactive map of the businesses and organisations still offering services in the South Downs
- West Sussex has a county-wide community hub which is available seven days a week and staff will be on hand to respond to enquiries between 8.00am-8.00pm. A dedicated telephone helpline is also available for residents who are unable to go online: 033 022 27980. Visit the Community hub if you need support, wish to volunteer or would like to find out more about community hubs.
- Frequently Asked Questions from Sussex Covid-19 NHS Community Connectors Team
Carer Resources
Specific advice for carers during this time
- Carers UK have created a resource to answer common questions that carers might have during the coronavirus situation
- Video resources for caring safely at home from the Social Care Institute of Excellence
- Live Better With Dementia have created this guide supporting carers of those with dementia
- Advice from Age UK for older persons and those caring for them
- Easy read posters explaining the rules around mask wearing, support bubbles etc.
- Guide from Alzheimer’s Society on dementia and face masks
- Resources and tips for autistic people and their carers from the National Autistic Society
- Advice for cancer patients and their carers from Macmillan
- Information for people who need social care support and for family and friend carers
Parent Carer Resources
- Advice from Young Minds on speaking to children about coronavirus
- Advice from Flourishing Families Clinic on how to speak to children about the current situation
- Reaching Families – Coronavirus FAQs
- West Sussex Parent Carer Forum – Coronavirus FAQs
- Place2Be – Guide to helping parents answer questions from their children and to support family wellbeing
- Young Minds – Talking to your child about Coronavirus and 10 tips from their Parents Helpline to support family wellbeing
- Covibook – an interactive resource designed to support and reassure children aged 7 and under, designed to help children explain and draw the emotions that they might be experiencing during the pandemic
- Amaze – information pack for parents
- Public Health England have produced an easy read version of their Advice on the coronavirus for places of education. You can download it here
- Sleep tips for families from Evelina London Children’s healthcare
- Healthy sleep tips for children from the NHS
Mental Health Resources
- Mental Health Helpline (Run by Sussex Partnership) 0300 5000 101
- Tips for staying well while social distancing from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists
- Living with worry and anxiety amidst global uncertainty from Psychology Tools
- How to look after your mental health during the Coronavirus outbreak from the Mental Health Foundation
- 30-day Wellbeing challenge from 5 Ways of Wellbeing
- Meditation and relaxation techniques from the Honest Guys
- Headspace meditation – free and paid options
- FACE COVID: how to respond effectively to the coronavirus
- A technology guide from the BBC on staying in touch with older people.
Learning Disability Resources
- Easy read documents on Covid 19 produced by Mencap
- A guide to your COVID -19 vaccination is an Easy Read Guide from Public Health England
- Translated Covid 19 resources from Sussex Health and Social Care Partnership
- NHS England have created a short film with Questions and Answers about Covid 19 and the vaccine for people with a learning disability and autistic people: NHSE film
- What Happen When I get A Vaccine? Is an animated Social Story
- The Challenging Behaviour Foundation have produced an information sheet about accessibility and reasonable adjustments for individuals with severe LD whose behaviour challenges, and advice for preparing relatives for a vaccination
- Beyond Words have produced picture booklets to help explain about Beating the Virus,
Having a Test for COVID-19, Having a Vaccine for COVID-19 and having a Drive Through Test
Health resources
- Guidance on social distancing from the UK Government
- Ideas from Sport England on how to stay active at home
- Free COVID-19 exercise support pack for older people from Move it or Lose it
- Home exercises for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions from Activity Alliance
- An age and dementia friendly chair-based gymnastics programme from the British Gymnastics Foundation.
- Daily online PE lessons for children and workouts for adults from the Body Coach
- 8 exercises and instructions from Curves fitness, including stretching
- Free online Yoga with Adrienne
- Walk at Home the original walking workout
- Free online workouts from Fitness Blender
- Healthy and tasty recipes from Community Chef
- Sleep and tiredness advice from the NHS
- Sleep guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic from the Sleep Foundation
Financial Resources
- A financial guide from Turn 2 Us on benefits and the virus, plus their benefits calculator.
- A guide from Citizens Advice for if you can’t pay your bills because of coronavirus
Learning Online
- Free online courses in a variety of subjects from The Open University’s Open Learn online portal.
- Learn a new language online for free with Duolingo.
- Carers UK’s Learning for Living, designed to help you recognise skills gained through caring to help you apply those skills in relevant environments such as paid work or volunteering.
- Khan Academy has a range of free courses, including maths, science, computing, economics and humanities.
- Free courses from FutureLearn in a range of subjects from business to nature, art to politics and everything in between.
- Free online course from universities including Harvard and MIT at edX.org.
- Coursera has free online courses from top universities.
- Learn computer coding for beginners at Codeacademy.
Just for fun
- Chatterpack has put together a list of free boredom-busting resources you can do from home.
- Virtual tours and online exhibits from over 2500 museums and galleries around the world on Google Arts and Culture.
- Virtual garden tours of Arundel Castle Tulip Festival, Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens, Kew Gardens, Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden and Dubai Miracle Garden.
- Watch delightful sea otters, sharks and more in live cam videos from Monterey Bay Aquarium
- Adventure Journal have compiled a list of animal webcams, from zoos and wildlife spots around the globe.
- The Sofa Singers is a free online singing event where you can join an online choir.
- Stream Flowers for Mrs Harris free from Chichester Festival Theatre until 8 May.
- The Royal Opera House has lots of operas and ballets to watch for free online
- The National Theatre in London is broadcasting a play every Thursday on its YouTube channel
- You can access a wealth of resources such as books, audiobooks, magazines and newspapers to read online from West Sussex County Councils e-library, plus the West Sussex Libraries Virtual Reading Group
- 200+ modern art books in PDF form — courtesy of The Guggenheim Museum via the Internet Archive
- Online craft lessons – free trial from Creative Bug
- Positive news stories from the Happy Newspaper, Positive News and Action for Happiness