To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Lina Sandstrom

Örebro Stadsmission (city mission) was founded in 2015 but distributed left over food before then in limited scale under a different name. Matcentralen (Food Central) is a shop that sells donated food from local businesses to individuals who are unable to meet their basic food needs through other means.

Navigating high Demand

It was founded in cooperation with Immanuelskyrkan in 2019. When the pandemic hit, demand for the service increased dramatically and they moved to larger premises in June 2020. Due to inflation and high food prices, demand continues to be high.

In 2019, they donated 80 shopping baskets per week, in august 2022, this had gone up to 270. The food in Matcentralen could be near expiration date, or the packaging may be damaged, but it goes through a quality check and is sold in a setting similar to a standard supermarket where members can decide for themselves what they want to buy. People who find it difficult to make ends meet can become members and buy a gift card for 50 SEK (€5) which pays for five shopping baskets (one per week).

Photo de Aaron Doucett sur Unsplash

Find out more about the initiative

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Ewelina Ciaputa

The pandemic caused many individuals to lose their jobs, pushing them into a sudden state of poverty.

Local aid for pandemic unemployment struggles

In April 2020, a group of students took action to help people who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic. As economic conditions worsened and unemployment increased in Poland, these volunteers extended their assistance to those in need. They focus on aiding people who became unemployed within two months prior to reaching out and those whose job loss was a result of the global health crisis. Their support includes essentials like food and household items, along with help in finding new employment and even public transportation tickets. Their efforts are concentrated in Krakow and its nearby areas, aiming to make a positively impact the local community.

Image by Freepik

Find out more about the initiative

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Suzanne de Cheveigné

Building safe homes

Compagnons Bâtisseurs Haut de France is a regional Community Service Organization (CSO) based in northern France and is an integral part of a national network. Their core mission is to support vulnerable families in improving their housing conditions, utilizing a unique approach that involves teaching families building and decoration techniques while actively involving them in the improvement process. The CSO primarily focuses on assisting single-parent families, often of migrant origin, and operates through workshops conducted either on-site or within the beneficiaries’ homes. By enabling the community to renovate their houses, the organization empowers families to regain confidence and autonomy, providing them with access to a healthy and safe home.

The initiative encompasses multiple objectives, including:
• Enhancing living conditions for families facing difficulties
• Promoting citizenship, volunteering, and associative life
• Initiating and guiding residents in building techniques
• Fostering a sense of collective and associative well-being within neighborhoods

Thriving during lockdown

Even during the challenging lockdown period, Compagnons Bâtisseurs Haut de France maintained strong connections with the families they assist. They utilized internet resources to stay in touch and distributed pre-prepared kits to provide necessary materials for ongoing projects. Additionally, the organization organized Zoom conferences, enabling participants to share their handiwork and discuss future plans. This approach fostered a sense of community and prevented individuals from feeling isolated during challenging times.

Find out more about the initiative

Photo by Annie Gray from Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. The initiatives currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

Achieving an authentic partnership between the sexes, with equal pay, care responsibilities, and equal rights is the vision of the Katholischer Deutscher Frauenbun, the Catholic German Women’s Union. To tackle the negative effects of the pandemic on gender equality, the KDFB has organised a digital 48-hour workshop in cooperation with the Bavarian Ministry for Social Affairs. The event, open to women and men of all ages, aimed at gathering ideas to shape the future of gender equality.

The COVID-19 pandemic as a turning point for gender equality and justice

The aim of the hackathon was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the care work, the responsibilities allocated to the different sexes, and the mixing of the private and professional spheres, acting as a catalyst for ideas and practices mitigating these impacts and bringing positive change. The hackathon was opened to discuss the challenges and opportunities for equality, for both women and men.

Following the success of the initiative, the KDFB has organised a series of further online events on the topic, running online until November 2021:

2nd team meeting: October 6th, 2021, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

3rd team meeting: October 20, 2021, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

4th team meeting: November 10, 2021, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

5th team meeting: November 24, 2021, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Closing event on December 2nd, 2021 for “Digital Volunteer Day” from 7:00 p.m.

Read more about the Equal = equal hackathon