Community spirit praised during time of need

Amidst the chaos of Covid-19, an uprising of community spirit has been praised by Northamptonshire Police Chief Constable as 'truly heartening'.  

During the past week the Force has seen some fantastic examples of community groups and individuals who have stood up to help others in need.

In Northampton, St George’s Street mosque has been coordinating together with Bangladeshi supermarkets to ensure food deliveries for those who have specialised dietary needs.

The Sikh gudwara, also in St George’s Street has been delivering food parcels to people in need, while the St James’ Pearls of Peace group has been offering help and support within the community.

Members of the women’s support group have been calling vulnerable community members, single parents and those with language barriers, to help them access the relevant Government support and financial assistance.

Chief Constable Nick Adderley, said: "During these difficult times all of us have a responsibility to do our bit to help beat the worst of this pandemic. And I have not been disappointed by the efforts made by large numbers of our community.

“There has been a significant uprising of people volunteering to help and showing an amazing level of community spirit. It is truly heartening to see the resurgence, which offers hope to all that we will get through this tumultuous time.

“We have been inundated and overwhelmed with offers of help and support from community and religious groups as well as individuals, and we have directed all potential volunteers to Northamptonshire County Council’s Community Cell, which is co-ordinating offers of help to ensure everyone in the county has someone to turn to if assistance is needed.

"The Community Cell is also compiling a database to ensure we are capturing the vulnerability within the community and ensuring the support network covers this. We are supporting the Council in these efforts.”

For more information on how you can become a volunteer in the county, please visit www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/coronavirus or telephone 0300 126 1000.

The NHS is also “rallying the troops” for the war on coronavirus, and are looking for up to 750,000 volunteers to help up to 1.5 million people who have been asked to shield themselves from coronavirus because of underlying health conditions.

Members of the public can sign up quickly and easily at goodsamapp.org/NHS to become NHS Volunteer Responders, to help with simple but vital tasks such as delivering medicines to making regular phone calls to check on people.