Whitby Covid-19 Volunteers Wanted To Help Residents Self-Isolating

Volunteers are needed in Whitby to help those who are self-isolating because of coronavirus.

Coast and Vale Community Action is looking for people to do a shopping trip for them once a week.

It says it's lost some of those who were helping out as they've gone back to work.

Mel Bonney, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We were asked very early on, before lockdown, if we would act as a community support organisation for Whitby and of course we said yes.

"What's that mainly entailed is linking in with people who are self-isolating and accessing vouchers to buy shopping for them.

"We've been talking to people, getting their shopping list, deploying volunteers to buy their shopping for them, collecting and delivering prescription and quite a lot of befriending as well by telephone.

"It hasn't stopped. It tailed off obviously when shielding stopped, when people starting going back to work but we're still shopping for a number of people.

"We're still doing a quite of befriending and we've also been supporting mutual age initiatives where people in the community have wanted to do good stuff to help other people.

2We try and match up one volunteer with one person needing shopping. It's not just about doing their shopping; it's also for a lot of people who are self-isolating, it's the only social contact that they'll get.

"It'll be one shop a week and they could probably coincide that with doing their own shopping."

Anyone who wants to become a CaVCA volunteer can get in touch via:

Telephone: 01723 362205

Email: ccr@cavca.org.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CavcaCCR

Website: www.cavca.org.uk