Warm Communities in Cold Wave

By Zhang Yanli

"Grandma, the button below is the switch, and the button above is the gear. There are three gears. You can't cover it when using it." On the morning of January 7, the outdoor temperature was below zero in the biting wind. Ju Xiuying’s house, located at No. 581, Siping Road, Ouyang Road Sub-district, was warm. The staff of the Dongjiazhai Neighborhood Committee sent her a heater and patiently told her how to use it.

88-years-old Ju Xiuying lives with her husband. Limited by the structure of the house, only one air conditioner was installed in the bedroom. The temperature dropped suddenly, and the dining room that the old couple often used became colder because of facing north. Now, the heater sent by the neighborhood committee made the dining room much warmer. "Thanks a lot. Now it's not cold when we have meals or watch TV. It's comfortable! The sub-district and neighborhood committee have always taken care of us," Holding the hands of the staff of the neighborhood committee, Ju Xiuying said.

Affected by the strong cold air in the north, the temperature broke the record in the same period of this century. With the cold wave coming, the Dongjiazhai neighborhood committee, relying on the "Homeland-based Party Building" work mode, mobilized the second-tier Party branches, Party group leaders and some co-construction units to visit the elderly, the elderly living alone and the disadvantaged families in the community and send them care and greetings. One of the co-construction units donated a batch of heaters. The neighborhood committee determined the distribution list through door-to-door survey, and sent the heaters to residents' homes in time before the 1st cold wave this year.

In order to cope with the cold wave, the neighborhood committees of Ouyang Road Sub-district not only put up notices on the bulletin boards and WeChat groups of the communities to inform the residents of protecting against freezing and cold in advance, but also urged the property management offices to re-check the water facilities and exposed parts of the communities, and take measures against the cold wave in advance.

In order to cope with the cold wave weather, the citizen service stations in Hongkou District also made adequate preparations. No. 3 citizen service station of Guangzhong Road Sub-district specially took the measures for the elderly nearby. A notice board of temporary shelter was put at the entrance. Hot water was supplied in the hall. Black tea bags, ginger tea and disposable cups were provided. A special room was arranged on the first floor as a temporary shelter.

"Hi, this is Hongkou District Elderly Service Center. In recent days, there will be a sharp drop in temperature, rainfall and gale in Shanghai, and the lowest temperature in Hongkou may reach minus 5 degrees. We must pay attention to keep warm and avoid going out. If you need help, please contact us." In the past two days, many old people in Hongkou received calls from the center.

It is learnt that in order to strengthen the care for the elderly at home, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Hongkou District used the 3612900 hotline to remind the elderly of putting on more clothes and avoiding going out. In addition, it organized the volunteers of the old friends program to visit the elderly, the elderly living alone and the elderly mentally retarded in the communities and remind the elderly of using electricity and gas safely. Relying on the Hongkou District Comprehensive Elderly Care Service Platform to ensure the meal delivery to home, it required deliverymen to arrange the delivery routes and timetables reasonably to ensure that the elderly could have hot food on time.