The following information about the work of Enfield Coronavirus Help, set up by Love Your Doorstep in mid-March, was issued on 31st March.
Resident Coronavirus Outreach - Run by volunteers for Enfield residents
March 31 2020
Over the past 15 days Emma Rigby & Love Your Doorstep’s community volunteer team have been working tirelessly to provide an immediate response to Enfield residents in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
None of the work that the “virtual team” have undertaken has been for payment or public recognition. We have not done this out of statutory duty; it's because we CARE.
As the “Enfield Stands Together” Supply Centre is now ready to go from 1 April, we feel it is time to hand over to Enfield Council.
What WE HAVE achieved by working together……
We became the immediate response for Enfield’s community and through working with 40+ charities and community groups we have achieved the following:
- We have logged 600+ volunteers and divided them into three areas to cover our Borough. All our volunteers were uploaded to a GDPR system and flagged if they had a valid DBS certificate.
- We have processed over 300 separate residents’ requests collecting from the North Enfield Foodbank and delivering to those in isolation or vulnerable
- Our volunteers have practised social distancing and have all worn gloves following the recommended advice from central government
- We have collected prescriptions and delivered direct to residents
- We have shopped for vulnerable families in need who were unable to get a supermarket delivery or click and collect slot. This was achieved by working through one of our volunteers and a Tesco branch that allowed our volunteers to perform shopping during an early shopping slot; whilst allowing the resident to make payment directly to Tesco.
- We have provided “buddies” to vulnerable residents (over 70 year olds)
- We have moved masses of food around the borough to the following groups;
- NHS staff (fresh food from the Felix Project as staff weren’t able to find food after their long shifts)
- Ambulance staff who were taking 8,000 calls a week and working 12 hour days.
- Our Mental Health team at Chase Farm hospital have been receiving daily deliveries of food for their staff and they are also taking food out to their vulnerable patients in the community.
- A local baker baked bread free of charge for Oasis Academy who had all their bread supply stopped
- Free cardboard boxes have been delivered to the food bank (as plastic has been proven to carry the virus for longer and they were concerned)
- The Palmers Green Mosque made up emergency food parcels for us to access if we needed them for residents.
- Food from McDonalds has been distributed to the Felix Project and also to a charities that feeds the homeless every week who are not receiving the help they were promised
- We have been replenishing the Food bank and the Felix Project via community donations so as we take food out we are putting more back in.
- We have supplied Age UK, the Foodbank and the Felix project with volunteers to help with the extra resource they need.
Source: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyOY3g6JgWM1STgQcmXAnd90KaMzT_G2pAU3zhBA3Rk91FdQ/viewform
