Covid charity funding boost to help reach most vulnerable

Kate McLachlan says her Covid symptoms never really went away (Image: Kate McLachlan)
Just months ago, the charity’s future was in jeopardy as it faced a funding crisis. It had been supporting an online community of around 1300 people and with more than 200,000 people in Scotland said to have long Covid, more and more people were turning to them for help.
Now they have secured a grant to continue their work and run courses which have become a lifeline for Ms McLachlan.
“I had Covid in March 2020 and my symptoms never really went away. I just had good days and bad,” said Ms McLachlan. “About three months in I literally crashed and then six months later was another wake-up call. I was struggling to stay in my life, to work and also help my partner who had long Covid as well. I was trying to carry on but my body was telling me otherwise.
“I was breathless, fatigued, had chest pains, nausea, and food intolerance and also brain fog along with sleep issues. I was trying to do a little bit more each day and just get through it, but I realise now that was the wrong advice.”
Ms McLachlan, who lives in Edinburgh, turned to Covid Aid which offers a community and guided space to help people affected by Covid. It offers practical help, online support groups, guidance on where to find the right information in connection with health or financial issues and run a number of courses which are accessible online on fatigue, coping with their illness and bereavement.
Discovering the art programme was the right fit for Ms McLachlan as it wasn’t illness focused.
“I’ve come to realise that talking about long Covid can be one of my trigger points, but being able to connect with people in the drawing group offers a supportive and positive space,” she added. “For me it was a way to connect through art. It has been great for my mental health and self-confidence. I feel I have achieved something and have something to show at the end of the day. It has brought joy to my day again.”

More than 200,000 people in Scotland are said to be living with Long Covid (Image: Press Association)
Michael MacLennan, founder of Covid Aid, said the funding will allow them to have a small number of people on part-time roles. They secured more than £30,000 to help them continue their services.
He said: “We secured funding through the National Lottery Community Fund and through the People's Postcode Trust continue helping people through to next year.
“It is vital at a time when there is still more than 200,000 people in Scotland experiencing long Covid but you would not know that when you look at how it is covered now.  Covid Aid launched in recognition that a lot of society would go back to the way it was and organisations and charities would return to their core missions, but there would be a continuing need to support people affected by the pandemic whether that be through long Covid, losing a loved one, or financially affected.
“For us it is great that we can continue to provide support, advice and information into 2023. As a charity we don’t want to just be able to continue, we want to be able to grow and do more so we are actively trying to get more funding which is a challenging environment. It is good that we have got a bit of a road map for opportunity to do things and help people particularly over the Christmas period with the cost of living crisis and we can be there for people.
Earlier this month, the Scottish Health Survey 2021 was published which showed five per cent of adults reported having long COVID.  Prevalence was highest amongst those aged 35-64 (6-7%).  One per cent of adults reported that long COVID limited their activities a lot.   The most common symptom reported was ‘weakness / tiredness’, with 63% of those with long COVID reporting this.  The next most common symptoms were ‘shortness of breath’ (43%), ‘trouble sleeping’ (37%), ‘loss of smell’ (34%), ‘headache’ (31%), ‘difficulty concentrating’ (29%) and ‘worry / anxiety’ (27%). 

Mr MacLennan added: “We have a community of more than 1300 members and you have people who are affected by long Covid for well over two years now who are increasingly worried for their future. Figures show that 5% of adults reported having long Covid. Although there is more research being done, there is still little known about the causes and how you actually treat the symptoms. We also have people coming to us who have just developed long Covid. I think now there is almost a train of thought that people don’t expect to get it with having had the vaccine or had it previously. It is not necessarily understood that people can get long Covid even now. Anyone can get long Covid no matter how fit or healthy or whether you had pre-existing conditions before it doesn’t matter.”
The charity was supportive of The Herald’s bid to create the National Covid Memorial. The first phase of the close to £250,000 project at Pollok Country Park in Glasgow opened in May.
“The opportunity to bring people together is very important,” added Mr MacLennan. “We have Remembrance Sunday and other commemoration days and having attended the national day of reflection at Pollok Country Park earlier this year you could see what it meant to people and for many to meet people for the first time.”
With some people only at the beginning of their long Covid journey, Ms McLachlan’s advice is simple – listen to your body.
“It took me months to realise I had to do what my body was telling me and to rest. You have to listen to your body it will tell you what you need – it is telling you something for a reason. Rest has been so important and it is a skill you have to develop. We always think we need to push through, but what I needed was quality rest.”

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