JERSEY TOGETHER: Restaurants called on to join in JEP’s Christmas campaign

JERSEY TOGETHER: Restaurants called on to join in JEP’s Christmas campaign

The call, from campaigner Andy Le Seelleur, who is backing the JEP’s Jersey Together initiative, comes as we ask readers to find ways to help each other to ensure nobody is left lonely or in need of support for any reason.

We are also urging anybody in crisis to seek immediate help.

Mr Le Seelleur, who was the JEP Pride of Jersey Community Champion in 2017, has been backed by the Association of Jersey Charities, who have agreed to act as a central point to connect hotels and restaurants which may be able to provide a table, with charities that work with Islanders who would otherwise go without.

He said: ‘It would go a million miles to improving not just their Christmas but their long-term prospects.

‘Whether it’s a restaurant inviting one family for a dinner, or a hotel offering an overnight stay, it would make somebody’s Christmas and give a break to families.

‘It might cost a small fraction but, to me, it’s all about the gesture and starting to redevelop this belief that we’re all in this together in this community because I think that’s where we’ve lost it a little bit.’

The Jersey Together campaign was inspired by the story of 30-year-old Christopher Thompson who took his own life after falling into financial difficulties. Mr Le Seelleur, whose wife Monika ended her life in 2016, said the response from friends and colleagues to Mr Thompson’s tragedy was tremendous.

He said: ‘We need to morally use Christopher’s story as a watershed moment. Stories can come and go, but everybody I’ve spoken to after the story last week has been affected.

‘What we need to do is use this to say whatever’s going on is not working. Fundamentally, we have lost sight of where we should be going as a small community.’

Mr Le Seelleur added: ‘We can’t just carry on like this. We’ve had 130 suicides in Jersey in ten years. Everybody I speak to knows somebody who has taken their own life or is in a mental-health crisis.

‘I know from my own experience, I can get frustrated in services and government and funding but I know the solution doesn’t lie there in isolation. As a community we’re not doing enough for ourselves.’

Lyn Wilton, from the Association of Jersey Charities, said: ‘Acts of kindness are not just for Christmas, but they certainly have a huge impact at this special time of year, especially for those who struggle to make ends meet. If you can do anything to help another this Christmas, the impact on you will be just as huge. It’s for this reason we are pleased to be supporting the Jersey Together campaign and hope people respond to its simple message to do something to help somebody else.’

Any business wishing to donate a table for a meal over the Christmas period can email lyn@jerseycharities.org.

The JEP wants to showcase work being done by individuals, families and community groups to inspire as many readers as possible to live out the Jersey Together message. Please use the hashtag #JerseyTogether.

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