By Kit Sandeman, Local Democracy Reporter
A huge scale operation to help reach vulnerable people in Nottinghamshire is well underway, with ‘more volunteers than people who need help.’
The leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Kay Cutts, said she had never seen anything on this level in terms of the response from citizens, and the mobilisation of resources.
She said she wanted to make ‘every single person’ who needed help – whether it be vital supplies or simply someone to walk their dog – is able to receive it.
To this end, a £1 million fund has been set up today to distribute grants of between £200 and £10,000 to charities and volunteer organisations helping with the community’s effort to tackle the virus.
Some of this will go to groups which are being co-ordinated by the county council’s ‘coronavirus hub’.
This will support Nottinghamshire’s share of the 1.5 million people who have been told by the NHS to self-isolate for 12 weeks because they are in the extremely-high risk category.
Just over 19,000 of these are in Nottinghamshire.
However many other people will also be supported by this hub, including those who are staying at home but have no immediate help from neighbours or family.
As of Wednesday, April 1, almost 400 people have requested support, and 550 have volunteered.
Those who were already receiving social care before the crisis began, and who now require additional support will also be able to get help through the hub.
Once people get in touch with the hub, staff will then make sure that volunteer organisations are put in contact with people who need the help.
Asked whether she had seen a mobilisation on this scale before, Councillor Cutts said: “I never had, no, but I have always been very well aware how much help there is in the community.
“You only need to go along to meetings in the communities and see people and they’re the same people that come forward on numerous occasions, they’re the first to volunteer, the first to organise.
“I’m constantly amazed by the kindness and the generosity of people and the immense effort they will go to to make sure that people receive the services they need.
“I think this is showing the best of people, and that’s something that’s really to be applauded.
“When you read the papers and watch television and hear anecdotally what’s happening you can only say to yourself ‘this is an extraordinary effort by very kind people.’
“We actually have more volunteers than we have people who require a service at the moment.”
To ensure that the community groups which have volunteered to help can continue operating, the council hopes to get the money where it needs to be ‘within days’.
The fund will provide grants of between £200 and £10,000 for everything from running costs to staff training, and from phone bills to transport costs.
Priority will go to those groups which are already in operation, and which are helping people affected by coronavirus by providing access to food, toiletries, or social support for vulnerable people.
Charities, community organisations, sports clubs, parish and town councils, and faith-based organisations are among the groups eligible to apply.
For further information, contact www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/communityfund
To receive support from the hub, people can contact either by: phone on 0300 500 8080; online at https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/care/coronavirus/nottinghamshire-coronavirus-community-support-hub and through the MyNotts app, which is downloadable for Apple phones here or Android phones here.
