As you know, there is a huge amount of work happening as part of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and at the forefront of this is the shared priority of supporting our county’s most vulnerable residents to get through this difficult time.
‘Northants Together’ illustrates how a huge variety of organisations are working together to do just this including public facing organisations like ours, care providers, voluntary organisations, charities, not to mention the army of individuals who have come forward to volunteer.
It will publically thank Key Workers across all sectors for everything they are doing right now to step up and support others, as well as good neighbours who are looking out for each other. It will also acknowledge that by people changing their behaviours and adhering to the current Government restrictions, everyone is doing their bit to help stop the spread of Coronavirus.
In addition to this, the campaign will:
Share news of the different areas of work of our COVID-19 response teams
Show what support and guidance is available for our residents
Recognise what Northamptonshire residents are doing to adhere to Government restrictions
Provide local information and updates
Reiterate national public messages from Government
This important campaign will launch today at 6:30pm. Please look out for it on our Facebook and Twitter pages, and join in with sharing and retweeting the #NorthantsTogether posts.
Coronavirus support line
The response to the dedicated Coronavirus support line set up this week is growing each day and we’ve had over 300 calls since the launch on Tuesday. Advisers at the Customer Service Centre at the County Council are working really hard to support people who are getting in touch, and teams across all the organisations involved are doing a fantastic job of co-ordinating the support needed.
Amongst other requests, today we have organised a food delivery for two elderly and vulnerable residents who are isolating and unable to leave their home, and have no one locally to call upon. Their daughter, who lives in South Wales, told us:
“My parents were unable to register for support through the national helpline and were really worried because their fridge and cupboards were starting to get bare, and they didn’t know what to do. It’s not easy for me to make the journey to Northampton at the moment to help, so I looked on the County Council website and found out about the brilliant community support service you are offering.
“Through the service, I put in a request and an urgent food delivery is being organised for my parents. I’m so pleased I spoke to the team, and thankful to them and everyone involved for all they are doing to support people at the moment. My parents feel reassured, and my mind has been put at rest. Thank you for supporting the most vulnerable people in the communities, I don’t know what I would have done without this service.”
Please continue to share the details of this vital service. People needing support can get in touch by calling 0300 126 1000 (option 5). We are keeping in touch with our fantastic volunteers on a daily basis, and I’m looking forward to sharing more stories about the wonderful work they are doing in the coming weeks.
From seeing people come together and rising to the challenges that COVID-19 is bringing, I know our local communities will be stronger than ever in the coming months. This will be a lasting legacy of this unprecedented situation, and something that will be talked about for years to come.
