Residents in Breckland who are looking for ways to support members of their local community during the coronavirus pandemic are being encouraged to register as a volunteer.
Breckland Council has created a new Community Support Hub Network which will seek to co-ordinate a team of volunteers to help some of the most vulnerable local people. This includes those who have been isolated but need deliveries of medicines and food, people who would benefit from welfare phone calls, or simply to cascade updates on latest guidance within communities.
It will be managed by officers from the council who are either community-focused as part of their day to day roles or have been redeployed from non-essential functions to boost the public-facing support available. The hub will also draw on the invaluable expertise of Voluntary Norfolk staff and other voluntary and community sector partners.
The Community Support Hub Network will form part of a wider Norfolk-wide network and link in with the national volunteer line which was recently announced by Central Government.
In the first instance, the volunteers will be directed to support nearby ‘vulnerable people’, with a comprehensive list being drawn up using data held by local councils, the NHS, Adult Social Care, Children’s Services and Public Health.
Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, Breckland Council’s Leader, commented: “It has been fantastic to see so many local councillors and members of our communities putting themselves forward to help people in-need. This new Norfolk-wide volunteering portal will help ensure that people who are volunteering their time can be directed to helping some of the most vulnerable and in-need neighbours in their area.”
People who would like to volunteer – or who are volunteering already – can register online at https://www.voluntarynorfolk.
