ANOTHER Bank Holiday and more fabulous weather tempting more people out of lockdown. But for a lot of people, nothing has changed. It probably won’t for a long time yet and that is why we will continue to staff the Torbay Community Coronavirus Helpline, offering support and advice whenever it is needed.
Continue reading Moving Forward
By Christine Durrant, Community Builder for Preston, Paignton Christine is a Community Builder, and has been part of the Torbay Community Coronavirus Helpline emergency response team. My life as a community builder has always been flexible and varied. Suddenly COVID-19 hit and life seemed to turn upside down. Fortunately for me I have no underlying health problems so am not in a high-risk category. In … Continue reading Day in the life of a Community Builder during a pandemic – Christine
By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead ANOTHER week in lockdown, with light showing at the end of the tunnel for some, but for others, no change. Calls to the Torbay Community Coronavirus Helpline continue to come in thick and fast, though not as many as we experienced at the beginning of the crisis, and the nature of the calls is changing. With each week … Continue reading Mental health – the next big challenge for Coronavirus community helpline
Until a few weeks ago 67-year-old Bob Ward was enjoying delivering Mercedes vehicles all over the UK. Then when he was furloughed, he was determined to help others. Here is his story. The alarm goes off around 6 am, which is late compared to when I ran my butchers shop, Save on Meats in Redden Hill Road, Babbacombe. Then it was 4 am six days … Continue reading A day in the life of helpline volunteer Bob Ward
By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead WEEK seven of the lockdown and some things are beginning to fall into their own rhythm with all sorts of new ‘normals’. Frequency of calls to the Torbay Community Coronavirus Helpline is slowing a little, though they still run to around 140 a day and the needs of callers can still be urgent and immediate. The majority of … Continue reading The new normal? What’s next?
By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead A FEW months ago, our current predicament would have been simply unthinkable. Normal life went on a pace with the words Coronavirus and COVID-19 barely registering in the average lexicon. We were aware of a virus raging elsewhere in the world, but who honestly thought it would lay us low too? And then on March 2nd it was … Continue reading Neighbourliness
By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead More than a month into this crisis and people who are struggling to find ways to describe the experience, often refer to the wartime spirit. Several times in the last week I have been lucky enough to talk to some of those who did live through WWII and they repeatedly make the comparison and refer to the kindness … Continue reading What did you do during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic?
By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead Well that was one Easter break that we will not forget in a hurry. Sunshine, warmth and four walls in which to enjoy it. Tragic. But not as tragic as venturing out unnecessarily may have been for someone else – someone you never knowingly met and will never know that you were responsible for their illness or even … Continue reading Things should never be the same again
By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead HUNDREDS of people across the Bay have stepped forward to help their neighbours during the Coronavirus crisis. A small army of volunteers is now working to ensure their neighbours are able to get through the crisis with offers of help with shopping, collecting prescriptions or simply spending time talking on the phone. Others have said they will join … Continue reading Answering the Call – hundreds volunteer to help their neighbours
By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead WORDS don’t often fail me, but over the last few days I have struggled to find the right ones to encapsulate what is happening across the Bay and across the country. I came close on Thursday night when doors and windows were briefly thrown open to allow the sound of clapping to fill the night sky across the … Continue reading Solidarity
