Our Impact 2020 – 2021
Community Development and our Response to the Pandemic
1145
Local residents supported
with food, IT equipment, wellbeing packs, befriending, or emergency grants for food or bills
Keeping people connected to each other and to the support they need throughout the crisis has been our priority.
We have played a vital role in the Coronavirus community response by recruiting volunteers, developing partnerships and coordinating action to support the community through this time.
3917
Advice and helpline booklets delivered
to homes in Southmead
We quickly changed our delivery models to respond to the pandemic – we moved all our classes and support to phone or online based sessions.
We became an emergency response hub working in partnership with Bristol City Council, the Affinity GP Network, and St Monica Trust, as well as with our local schools and health centres.
2236
Residents received 1-1 support
via the phone & doorstop deliveries
What we did this year:
- Set up a Coronavirus Community helpline in partnership with the NHS Bristol, North Somerset and Gloucester Clinical Commissioning Group and Bristol City Council. We have taken on 2616 referrals, with 2236 going on to receive one-to-one support from our staff and volunteers
- Launched new projects including a hot meal delivery service, getting free tablets or laptops to the digitally isolated, a mobile community library, and moved all our wellbeing and support classes to online and free of charge – with a total of more than 8200 visits
2616
Callers from our response line
referred on for support
What we did this year:
- Supported young people with one-one sessions, activity packs, 45 online sessions, and detached work
- Completed a community-wide door knocking and phone based outreach campaign across our area; we talked to people about how the pandemic has affected them and the role they would like the Trust to play
- Supported residents to start up 7 new groups run by more than 13 volunteers: Couch to 5k; gardening; a weekly card playing group; poetry; walking; and creative writing
8200
Visits online
to 217 free wellbeing classes
Viv’s Story
Viv was always a very active person who went out and saw friends and family a lot.
When lockdown happened it changed her life completely and she became anxious, isolated and lonely. At the same time she unexpectedly lost her life-long friend which left her with a “terrible void”.
Viv was visited by us and asked for support.
