Staying positive

How our Communities team have given people 'packages of positivity' to help spread some cheer.

Published: 24/09/2020

During this pandemic, our Communities team decided that many of our residents would be going through an even tougher time than normal and could do with a package of positivity to help brighten their day and let them know that someone was thinking of them.

So in August, we launched the first round of the Peabody Positivity Package Project and rolled it out to our Essex Care & Support staff who could nominate a tenant or customer who they felt deserved a package.

We had over 27 nominations, all of which were worthy candidates, and we had a tough job to whittle it down to just 10 people. We then created personalised packages using the information that staff had provided to us with their nominations.

We had a range of nominees from teenagers to a lady of 83, all with their own stories which the COVID situation and lockdown had made worse. Whether that was due to isolation, anxiety, depression, support, financial issues or going through personal problems such as bereavement, a global pandemic on top of these issues had made things ten times worse.

We set about creating the packages which included things such as: mental health colouring books; word searches; craft kits; items for their homes; photo frames to show memories; and trinkets and sweets that would cheer them up and bring a smile during these difficult times.

All the packages also included a set of our Positivity Postcards: a pack of six postcards with inspirational quotes created to cover each of the "Five Ways to Wellbeing". These were created so that the person receiving the package could put them up on their mirror, fridge, wall, use them as a bookmark or whatever they wanted. They could also pass them on to a friend or family member by writing a little note on the back to show they are thinking of them.

The team then set about delivering the packages - some people were already aware they that they were going to receive them and for some, it was a complete surprise! One even arrived on a tenant's birthday unbeknown to us, which really made his day after a very difficult period in his life. Overall, the response we received was fantastic and created a feeling of positivity for our team too, knowing we had been part of spreading some joy to people when they most needed it.

We hope to be able to roll this project out across Peabody with three packages per month being created and distributed to Peabody residents who have been nominated.

Look out for more information on the next round of nominations opening up!

Some feedback from recipients