North Yorkshire volunteers help ease residents back into everyday life after COVID-19 lockdown

During the pandemic, people across the county have been supported by an army of local volunteers doing everything from delivering food and prescriptions to simply being a friendly face.

The 23 Community Support Organisations that North Yorkshire County Council has worked with across the county during the pandemic are turning their attentions to helping people back into day-to-day life with confidence.

Phil Henderson, manager at the Stokesley and District Community Care Association, told North Yorkshire County Council how they are supporting people back into everyday life after lockdown. The association is a hub which is continuing to support the elderly, vulnerable or those who simply need a bit of extra support right beyond lockdown.

Throughout the pandemic, an army of volunteers delivered prescriptions and food to those who needed it. They are continuing to do that for those who need it, but also taking people to medical appointments and starting up their befriending service again physically to ease people back into normal life.

Phil said: “The CSO set up through North Yorkshire County Council has been very good for us; we slotted into it nicely and were already helping a lot of people.

Community spirit

Phil added that as lockdown begins to lift, the focus will be on continuing to support members of the community who need it by building confidence in getting back outside.

He said that part of this will involve more transport to medical appointments (while adhering to social distancing guidelines) but also the befriending service, which has run through lockdown, will begin to return to physical meetings.

Gary Fielding, North Yorkshire County Council Corporate Director for Strategic Resources, said: “The effort volunteers on the ground have gone to during the pandemic is fantastic.

“The community spirit we’ve seen during the unprecedented circumstances of Covid-19 has been one major success.”