LOCKDOWN has had an impact on everyone’s mental health, especially those who live in rural and isolated areas.
Residents of Weardale, however, have stuck together in trying times to keep in touch and prevent loneliness.
Both pre-existing groups and Covid support groups helped to keep people in contact and connected in various ways.
A Weardale writers group found a unique way of sharing their experiences of lockdown and keeping in touch with each other.
Christine Powell who runs the writers group said: “I’ve run a writers group in Stanhope for about seven years.
“We used to meet in the community centre but now we meet on Zoom every week.
“It has been important to keep in touch and keep writing.
“We are working on a project funded by the AAP Covid assistance to put together a piece of writing about how people feel during the pandemic and how they are expressing themselves.
“We have teamed up with Lonely Tower Film and Media and made each story into a film.
“It has been very important to keep in touch and we have used our writing club to do that.
“Being creative in order to express what is going on in Weardale, the loneliness and isolation is a reality for some.”
Phil Mews, a resident of Weardale and author said: “I was very lucky to have a village community around me.
“For me the concern on my mental health was a financial one after I lost my job as a TV production manager for Channel 4.
“I fell through the cracks of the furlough scheme and universal credit. My head could not rest and I couldn’t concentrate on anything.
“It was Facebook live and the Zoom calls that kept us all together.
“Now, I am a delivery driver and on my rounds I have seen people who live in very isolated parts of the dale.
"I might be the only person they see for a day or two.
“I always make sure I stop and give them a few moments of my time to see if they are okay.”
Mark Thorburn from Lonely Tower Film and Media said: “We wanted to take words off the page, we were astounded by the response.
“We received moving, and poignant, but also funny stories, that show what lockdown was like.
“We have captured a moment that we may never see again.”
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