Volunteers to provide support after lockdown

Many volunteers who have rallied to respond to the coronavirus pandemic in Ross-on-Wye will continue to provide support after the lockdown ends.

More than 360 people have offered to help deliver food and vital medicines to people who have been self-isolating.

Organisers of the Ross Good Neighbours scheme say they were overwhelmed and extremely grateful by the offers of support.

And looking ahead, team leader Paul Cummings says they aim to set up a dedicated ‘neighbourhood buddies’ scheme which will continue the good work that was the original idea before the pandemic shifted the team’s focus.

They estimate that they will need around 80 dedicated volunteers in the Ross area after lockdown.

Each of these buddies will be responsible for between 60-100 households, all within a few streets of where they live.

Mr Cummings says the buddies will be the face of Ross Good Neighbours locally and will promote the scheme and deal with initial queries from residents.

Other responsibilities will include circulating the Ross Good Neighbours newsletter, referring queries and requests for help from neighbours to other voluntary groups, the NHS or social services – and simply being a good neighbour to all those who need support.

“The response has been simply staggering and has left us in the embarrassing situation of having more volunteers that we can utilise within the various initiatives that are currently being run.

“I know that this will be disappointing for many who had hoped to be able to do their bit to help the whole of the community in Ross and many of its surrounding villages.

“At present we have allocated 160 volunteers with specific tasks, and we have placed 78 volunteers on a Reserve List with a further 130 that have offered to help but have yet to forward the necessary accreditation documentation.

“We are actively considering how we will need to change our operation once the government provides clear guidance about the future.

“We know that many of our volunteers will be returning to work and may not be able to provide their current level of commitment or current hours.

“However, having a significant volunteer reserve should enable us to maintain a degree of agility to review processes and the tasking of individuals.”

The Ross Good Neighbours Scheme received a total of 369 offers of support to assist those being isolated due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hundreds of members of the community have stepped forward to offer their help in and around Ross-on-Wye – extending to Bridstow, Brampton Abbots, Foy, Upton Bishop, Weston-under-Penyard and Walford.

The Ross Good Neighbours scheme was set up prior to the global pandemic at the end of 2019 by previous Ross-on-Wye Mayor, Jane Roberts, who also chairs the Ross Community Development Trust.