With Ballarat entering another week of self isolation, more and more people may begin to struggle with the lack of outside communication they're used to.
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One woman who anticipated this was Ayesha Hilton, an author and communications specialist based in Mount Helen.
"I have a background in communication and technology so when isolation started to happen I was starting to see people needed extra support," she told The Courier.
It was at this point Ms Hilton came up with the idea for Virtual Care Basket, an online source of activities and videos to help those stuck with the boredom and monotony of social isolation.
She said once the idea popped into her head, she worked quickly to get the website up and running.
"I thought how could I help, I wanted to get something put together ASAP and not procrastinate so that's how Virtual Care Basket was born."
Initially made up of free to download activities from a group of Ms Hilton's friends, the site quickly evolved into a hub for live videos and group calls.
I was looking through my contacts and realised I knew so many awesome people who could help contribute.
- Ayesha Hilton
Hosting a wide-range of events such as a virtual cuppa, where people can log on for a simple cup of tea and chat to business assistance for those struggling in this period.
"We've run events with people who specialise in everything from sustainability to astrology.," Ms Hilton added.
"Our fantastic group of contributors were so excited and eager to start producing and hosting sessions to help anyone."
One contributor, Laura Jane Day, who hosted a Soul Medicine Painting workshop through the website says the platform allows a great ability for those in isolation to connect and get the interactions with other people they need.
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"I was so excited when she asked me to be a guest presenter in the Virtual Care Basket, because it gave me something to focus my mind on while we are in isolation," she said.
"Connecting with others online gave me a sense of community connectedness. The Ballarat Open Studios had to be cancelled because of coronavirus and it was so fantastic to still run the painting workshop that I had planned virtually."
These sentiments were echoed by Tracey Serna, a Ballarat resident who has been self isolating for three weeks.
"Finding myself having to self isolate because of the current events have left me, like many, with new challenges," she said.
"The first was to find ways to remain feeling connected to others, compounded by the fact I live on my own, so finding ways became very important to me.
"Having found Ayesha's Virtual Care Basket has been a real gift. The content has been interesting, informative and delivered with warmth, joy and lots of laughter."
The website currently has events scheduled until the end of April.
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