Coronavirus: Hundreds of people volunteer for Bridgnorth Covid-19 support group
What started as a few Shropshire residents checking on their vulnerable neighbours has transformed into divisional teams of people supporting a whole town and beyond.
Bridgnorth Covid-19 Mutual Aid group started four weeks ago and has so far answered the calls of more than 200 people asking for help.
Hundreds of volunteers have given up their time to deliver food and other essential items, pick up medical prescriptions or just offer a friendly chat to someone who may be isolated.
Francesca Wetherilt is one of the founders who enabled the group to take their first request on March 16.
The 31-year-old charity worker, who moved to Bridgnorth in August, said being able to mobilise volunteers quickly in response to the ever-changing circumstances surrounding coronavirus was vital.
"Even though we didn't have everything set up to begin with it was important to get started as soon as we could and make it work as we went along," she said.
"People needed extra support straight away and as a group we're working outside of any council, government, police or charity and can mobilise far faster – so that was important."
The group runs using two online forms. One for people requesting help and one for people to volunteer to support others. A dedicated call-handling team also offers guidance over the phone and can help those without internet to sign up.
The town has been split into 10 divisions, including an out-of-town ward that supports smaller, rural communities on the outskirts of Bridgnorth. There is an average of 20 volunteers supporting each division.
Amazing
Fran added: "We've had to make sure it remains hyperlocalised and people helping each other no more than a few streets away – it's still about neighbours helping each other rather than a big operation.
"We have one coordinator per ward and three in the out-of-town division. People's requests come through and get disseminated three times a day by a central coordinating group which I'm a part of and we then reach out to volunteers in those areas and see if anybody is available."
Fran added: "Doing this has been absolutely amazing. I'm working alongside people I've never met before, never spoken to before, and working as a community like this is really empowering.
"We're now looking to set up an open collective account to receive donations and we're also starting to work with certain shops in Bridgnorth as they set up home delivered as the local independent traders have been quite inundated.
"We've done a 4,000 leaflet drop around Bridgnorth but we want to reach out to people that may still be unaware of the support available."
The group can be contacted on 01746802091, bridgnorthmutualaid@gmail.com or by searching Bridgnorth Covid-19 Mutual Aid on social media.
