At CAN we’ve seen the spectrum of community groups forming in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, seeking to help their vulnerable and isolated residents. We have, and are, helping many of them with safeguarding, insurance and legal advice and volunteer management, under the auspices of our existing Good Neighbour scheme network.
There are some inspiring examples of communities coming together during the Coronavirus pandemic, and one south Norfolk town has shown how it can be done.
A project that combats loneliness and isolation in Norfolk has adapted swiftly to the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. Operation No Cold Shoulder offers free support to people in Dersingham and North King’s Lynn in the west of the county; Swaffham and Litcham in mid-Norfolk; Thetford, Fakenham and surrounding villages; and Mile Cross and Thorpe Hamlet in Norwich.
Finding funding to carry out your VCSE organisation’s activities can be stressful - because It’s crucial to your organisation's ability to deliver its services. But a proper funding strategy will help secure the income needed to run your organisation now and in the future.
Many of you reading this will know that at CAN we’ve been surveying the Norfolk VCSE sector to compile a measured and accurate picture of how voluntary organisations and groups across the county have been adapting and modifying approaches to working with their service users during the COVID-19 crisis. The responses have been channelled into helpful data which will ultimately help present the voice of the voluntary sector to commissioning authorities and to government itself.
CAN has joined with other prominent public and voluntary sector agencies from across Norfolk to warn residents to be extra vigilant of new and existing scams during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dealing with bereavement is never easy. It’s even harder during this difficult period, with separation from loved ones at the most crucial time. Norfolk County Council, together with the Working Together partnership, is offering a 30-minute wellbeing telephone support call to anyone registering a death.
We know that many voluntary and community groups are experiencing severe operating constraints currently, not least the inability to engage directly with clients and service users. One of the great characteristics of the VCSE sector, however, is the ability to adapt and improvise to meet the need.
Working from home under lockdown has become the ‘new normal’ for many voluntary and community organisations. Many of us are now learning to meet via video-link, and it brings new challenges in running an effective meeting!