Praise for groups as recovery phase begins
The leader of Test Valley Borough Council has praised the efforts of community groups as the borough begins to enter the early phases of the recovery stage in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A number of local groups set up across Test Valley have helped thousands of people get access to medication, food or just a friendly person to talk to if they felt isolated or vulnerable.
Together with its community partner, Unity, the council has offered its help and financial backing to the groups to help them serve their local communities. The Test Valley Community Hotline has also been set up to offer a route for support and has been widely utilised.
Now, as these groups begin to help the community look ahead and enter into the recovery phase, councillor Phil North has praised how the local organisations have risen to the challenge presented by the pandemic.
Leader, councillor North, said: “The impact these groups have had in our borough has been amazing and I am extremely grateful to every single person who stood up to be counted. This was, and still is, a completely unknown situation and these groups have made an immense difference to our communities.
“To everyone who has taken part, I say thank you. We, as a council, have sought to support where possible, either with our financial help or by deploying our staff out and about with food parcels, and the Test Valley Community Hotline.”
With the number of calls having significantly dropped on Sundays over the last few weeks, the hotline will now be run Monday to Saturday and operate six days a week. However, staff will remain available on Sundays for emergencies and can be accessed via Hampshire’s county-wide hotline on 0333 370 4000.
Unity chief executive, Terry Bishop, said: “The Test Valley Community Helpline was a reactive response to the needs of isolated people at the start of the pandemic. In partnership with TVBC, groups across the borough and hundreds of volunteers, a groundswell of support for people has been possible and we are justly proud. To know that thousands of people have been assisted in this way, is what 'voluntary action' is all about and Test Valley as a whole has been exceptional.
“We would like to express our thanks to everyone and in particular, the volunteers. We hope that they will talk to our Unity Volunteer Hub to continue to offer their time in the future.”
The Test Valley Community Hotline can be reached, 9am until 5pm, Monday to Saturday, via 0330 400 4116.