Grassroots Support in Kahnawake for Those Affected by COVID-19

There are 17 active cases of COVID-19 in Kahnawake as of Wednesday morning, dozens more remain in isolation because of close contact and exposure. Help, both officially from organizations such as KSCS, and unofficially from community members, is available in Kahnawake for those either with COVID-19, or for those who may be stuck in isolation. Newly elected Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) official Jessica Lazare, along with Lisa Peterson, started up a Facebook page five months ago as a grassroots initiative.

“Started a Facebook page for community members to share if they need help or if they’re offering help for those in isolation,” Lazare said. “We noticed that there were people on Facebook that were sharing that they wanted to help out and they were asking for help. We just wanted t kind of centralize it. We thought it was aa good idea to get people to connect and to get people to not feel  so isolated at home.”

The page can be found on Facebook under the title: “If you need help Kahnawake Covid Support!”. Peterson says it’s a true reflection of the generosity and spirit of the community.

“Kahnawake has always been the kind of community that takes care of its own,” Peterson said. “Even though it’s just a Facebook page 264 people strong, I’ve seen people go out and give people treats, go  to the pharmacy for people that they don’t normally interact with and that’s just what  Kahnawake is about. When we need help, everybody goes out to help everybody and it just speaks to the heart of who we are as people.”