By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead We have some fabulous people here in the Bay who have stepped up to help their neighbours over the last few weeks.   One of the privileges of this job is that I get to talk to them and to convince them that their stories are worth sharing with others and that isn’t always easy.   More often than not, … Continue reading Acts of #TorbayKind

For thousands of others, there is currently no prospect of normal life, and so it is imperative that the Torbay Helpline on 01803 446022 will remain available for them for as long as necessary.

And that is why we are launching a Crowdfunder to help with the running costs of this essential service, which was launched twelve weeks ago. Continue reading Long way to go until return to “normality”

By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead When the coronavirus crisis hit and the calls started coming in, we quickly realised we were going to need help.  A lot of help. We asked for volunteers, and you came forward in your hundreds, and many of you are still with us today. We can now boast a veritable army of volunteers across the Bay helping their … Continue reading Volunteers, you are awesome

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?