March 20, 2020

Cumbria CVS Support and Services
Although we have closed our offices and moved to home working, we are still available to take your calls, your emails and provide support – using digital and other available options – so please do keep in touch and make use of our services.
We can provide you and your organisation with a variety of information, advice and support, which may become more important during the current crisis – please see below:

To contact Cumbria CVS:
Call: 01768 800350
Email: info@cumbriacvs.org.uk
Visit: www.cumbriacvs.org.uk

Funding Advice and Support
Many groups will be looking to apply to local and national funders for support during this crisis and our team can support you through this process. We are currently pulling together a range of resources which will be available on our CVS website and through this Ebulletin – but in the meantime, if you require support, please contact us – on 01768 800350 info@cumbriacvs.org.uk – and we will ensure that your request is dealt with.

Please be aware that Cumbria Community Foundation has launched a NEW COVID19 Fund:

Go to the Foundation’s website for more information

Community Foundation launches Cumbria COVID-19 Response Fund

The link for anyone wanting to donate is:

Community Foundation launches Cumbria COVID-19 Response Fund

And for applications:

https://www.cumbriafoundation.org/fund/covid19-response-fund/

National Lottery Community Fund: Please click here for the latest statement from Dawn Austwick, CEO, The National Lottery Community Fund:
https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/news/press-releases/2020-03-17/updated-statement-from-dawn-austwick-ceo-the-national-lottery-community-fund-covid-19

Training and Events
In line with current government advice, all our training, events, networks have been cancelled until 1 September 2020. We do apologise for this. However, we are still very keen to hear from you about what training and other needs you may have so that we can start to plan for the autumn and ensure that we are able to support you to keep your staff safe and your organisation compliant. We are also currently looking at other options for providing training and will keep you updated. We look forward to continuing to work with you.

DBS Service
We will be making some adjustments to this service to accommodate current government advice. For further details, please contact us info@cumbriacvs.org.uk or call 01768 800350.

Action for Health
Our Action for Health Network is also providing updates on local services. Please visit the webpage where you will find our recent Bulletins and accompanying attachments: www.cumbriacvs.org.uk/giving-you-a-voice/cumbria-action-for-health

Volunteering/Community Support
Individuals from local communities are using facebook to bring together informal volunteers that can help and support people already in their neighbourhood. It’s fantastic to see such a fast response from individuals wanting to volunteer and help their neighbours and community!

Here are 10 Top Tips to help your community and be a good neighbour dúring COVID-19. This factsheet has been produced by Cumbria CVS in partnership with Cumbria ACTion for Communities.

We have also developed a page in relation to Volunteering during an emergency, which is now available on our CVS website:
https://cumbriacvs.org.uk/coronavirus/covid-19-volunteering/

This page also includes details on the new Support Cumbria website which is now live and will provide a central point to help coordinate volunteering efforts to support Cumbria residents who may need help: https://supportcumbria.org.uk/

Please note it is anticipated that there will be a high volume of people registering their interest in volunteering – you will only be contacted when an organisation needs your help but we want to Thank You for offering your time and skills to volunteer!

Volunteer Managers – Coffee and Chat via Zoom
Thursday 26 March 2020 from 11am-12noon
You are all invited to take part in this meeting, which will provide an opportunity to be updated on a number of areas and share good practice. The meeting will be hosted by Judith Smale via Zoom.  For invite details email: judiths@cumbriacvs.org.uk. See poster for full details.

In the meantime, if you have any any questions please contact us: info@cumbriacvs.org.uk

Living With and Beyond Cancer
We are able to offer a friendly listening ear and help to find local support.
Our support line – 01228 525197 – will now available every Wednesday and Thursday from Wednesday 25 March 2020 between 9:30am and 4:30pm.  If you call outside of these times, please use the answerphone to leave a message and we will get back to you.
This service for people who are affected by cancer living in North Cumbria.

In this section we will aim to provide any updated advice, tips, resources, that may be of interest.
Please do bear with us – the information is coming through thick and fast and we are doing our best to coordinate and share this with you all.

Other Support and Advice: Covid -19

Local Support Structures – Cumbria County Council
We are seeing widespread community and voluntary sector support for the response to Covid-19 across Cumbria. This has a number of layers; there are many informal support mechanisms, including neighbourhood WhatsApp groups and community Facebook groups emerging, alongside a commitment from existing community emergency planning groups, local churches and faith groups and formal voluntary sector organisations to work with and support the statutory sector response.

These layers all have an important role to play; if most people are able to get informal support from their neighbours, friends and family, it will reduce the number of people who require formal support from community and voluntary sector organisations or statutory sector services. All organisations are likely to find it very challenging to maintain their normal services, or respond to an increase in demand, as staff and volunteers self-isolate, become ill, or need to remain at home to care for children.

This means that we need to find ways to support and link the different layers of the community response; this poses some significant challenges, but Cumbria saw a similar informal community response following the flooding caused by Storm Desmond in December 2015, and so we have experience of coordinating it. Please read the attached document with gives further clarity and more importantly how to keep informed and get involved!
C-19 Cumbria Coordination

Crime Prevention
Althought this may be more appropriate on an individual level, it is important information that all are aware about current scams:

Individuals
People who are concerned they are suffering symptoms that may be due to Coronavirus can use the tool on the NHS 111 website (or phone 111) to check what they should do: https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19

Businesses
Larger third sector organisations will find useful information on the government’s webpage for businesses. Some of the information will also be relevant to smaller organisations and to volunteers as well as staff.

This includes information on when employees should stay away from work, how to respond to employees who need to take time off work, and how to clean premises after someone develops Coronavirus:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19

Health and Care
The government advice for social and community care providers may be useful to a number of third sector organisations:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-social-or-community-care-and-residential-settings-on-covid-19

The full list of government guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-guidance

Electricity and Gas Meters
A number of enquiries have been received regarding the vulnerability of self-isolating households who are unable to top up pre-pay electricity or gas meters, today BEIS have made a press announcement outlining the commitment of suppliers to ensure people are not left off-supply:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-agrees-measures-with-energy-industry-to-support-vulnerable-people-through-covid-19

 

We look forward to keeping you updated and remember if you have something that you would like us to share, please contact us:
01768 800350 or email: info@cumbriacvs.org.uk