Over 2,300 people have registered with the Fife Voluntary Action’s Helping Hands website to volunteer in their local community. This includes over 700 people from Fife who volunteered via the national ‘Scotland Cares’ volunteer programme.
Fife Council has established the role of volunteer coordinator in each of its seven area teams to work directly with Fife Voluntary Action to contact, assess and match volunteers. These coordinators are identifying volunteers to place with local community groups to increase their capacity to deliver much needed services, whilst enabling existing volunteers to take some well-deserved time out.
There was a major push at the end of March to identify volunteer befrienders to complement the existing befriending services available throughout Fife. This was in response to an increasing need to provide some personal contact for people who are feeling isolated and vulnerable during this difficult time. As of 11 May, over 1,500 volunteers had been contacted by local co-ordinators and over 150 had been matched into local groups or into specific volunteering roles. Area teams are keeping in close contact with local groups to provide advice, support and assistance to the ongoing voluntary effort.
Over 70 local voluntary groups are now working to support local communities across Fife, providing a range of essential services, including the delivery of shopping and prescriptions, transport and the provision of befriending services.
There are eight active community resilience groups in Fife – six of which were established before the COVID-19 pandemic (active in Burntisland, Kinghorn, Kettle, Leslie, Newport, Wormit, Fogan and across the East Neuk). Two further groups emerged as the pandemic developed, covering Markinch and Largo. These groups are linked directly with the Emergency Resilience Team who provide advice and support for the development of local resilience arrangements and the delivery of local community led response activities. The Emergency Resilience Team has also facilitated links between these groups and the seven area volunteer coordinators.
These local resilience arrangements have provided a foundation on which capacity and additional resources could be built to respond to the impacts of COVID -19 and support communities. The groups have been instrumental in coordinating volunteers in their areas. Local support is being provided through two key activities: delivering shopping/medication and befriending services/comfort calling.
Efforts to promote support available within local communities has involved leaflets with group contact details delivered to households, information posters in local shops, newsletters and emails, inclusion of leaflets in prescription bags from local pharmacies and social media. The groups are also well placed to continue to support their communities through the transition to the ‘new normal’.
The council has also placed some of its own ‘Team Fife’ volunteers with voluntary groups to increase their capacity. This ranges from helping to pack and deliver food parcels to those in need to working with Fife Shopping Service to support those unable to get to the shops.
For further information, contact
Tim Kendrick, Fife Council
E. tim.kendrick@fife.gov.uk