Morgan Daly CEO
This post is a guest contribution from our Research and Evaluation Team Manager, Stef, on his work with Quartet Community Foundation, and Councils. We’re helping to identify support in the community, and helping to ensure it gets to the people who most need it…
“In response to the challenges posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, The Care Forum is proud to be supporting local authorities, networks, and communities across the South West of England. As a community infrastructure organisation, our support across this region has taken various forms.
For instance, partnering with local authorities in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, and with organisations such as Quartet Community Foundation, we’re mapping information on those services and community groups that are supporting people who are vulnerable and isolating to make sure they can meet their most basic needs – getting food delivered, making sure they can talk to someone over the phone, or that they can get help topping up their PAYG meter. This is both so that our service users know where to turn, and so that our local authorities and organisations like Quartet understand where gaps in provision exist and they can know who to support.
Our Well Aware team continues to provide valuable health and wellbeing directory services to people across Bristol and South Gloucestershire. We’re receiving increasing numbers of calls and emails from service users, community organisations and professionals alike can support people to their most basic needs – “if I’m isolating, where can I get my food, top up my PAYG meter, or where do I turn for benefits advice?”. In this challenging and uncertain environment, we’ve adapted our service to ensure that we continue to offer the best information, advice and guidance we can to our service users across the region.
We would love to hear from you – but we are also all working from home right now! You can reach us by emailing admin@thecareforum.org.uk and asking to be forwarded to the most appropriate person for your needs.