Weymouth Town Councillors supporting the local community during the coronavirus pandemic

Weymouth Town Councillors are very keen to recognise the massive local effort and the outstanding work currently being carried out by local volunteers, church groups, agencies and charities.

Many councillors are directly supporting many local church and volunteer groups who are providing food delivery and collection services to communities around Weymouth. A huge amount of effort has been carried out to support the set-up of local schemes, including Littlemoor Food Bank and the Southill Assistance Scheme. Work is ongoing in liaison with Dorset Volunteer Service, Scout groups and local supermarkets and arranging grant applications for financial support.

Councillors are extremely thankful for the large number of volunteers who are helping with food parcels, house to house deliveries and reducing loneliness. Over 10,000 leaflets have now been delivered, with an additional 5,000 to follow.

Weymouth Town Council continues to work with the Keep in Touch essential aid project, supporting Refresh with providing local people in need with food basics, prescription collection and someone to talk to.

Cllr Gill Taylor, Weymouth Town Councillor for Westham West, said:

“I have been inspired by the energy and commitment of the many local volunteers, and it is humbling to have the opportunity to work alongside so many people to help our residents in these difficult times.”

“I have worked primarily with Refresh: Churches in Action in Weymouth, our brilliant council staff and community volunteers on the Keep in Touch project, primarily on the food box part of the project so have been very busy. Additionally, I also volunteered through the Dorset Volunteer Service; I have undertaken prescription pick-ups and am regularly contacting a couple of our self-isolating residents. I am also involved in the Let’s Make It group and am very happily supporting the NHS Angels project.

“But this isn’t about me – it’s about how we as councillors support our residents through this – I’m fit and well and am able to go out to support our residents. All of our Town Councillors are supporting our residents in whatever way they can.”

Cllr David Gray, Weymouth Town Councillor for Radipole, said:

“The local support has been amazing, I have had the opportunity to support the Southill Assistance, Littlemoor Food Bank and Refresh projects with food collections and prescriptions. I have also been assisting residents with food shopping and prescription collections.”

Cllr Peter Barrow, Weymouth Town Councillor for Radipole, said:

“I set up the Southill Assistance Scheme with support from fellow councillors David Gray and David Harris. The scheme provides a delivery and collection service for residents who are self-isolating at home and need some additional help. We couldn’t do anything without our fantastic volunteers, and we are very grateful to those that have stepped up to help. So far over 25 have volunteered and we are now approaching our 100th delivery! We are also very grateful to the Well Pharmacy and the Central Store for all they are doing to support our community at this difficult time.”

Cllr David Harris, Weymouth Town Councillor for Westham North, said:

“Weymouth residents have been widely supported during this time of lockdown by having a set of councillors keen to work with partners and volunteers to ensure that support gets to as many as many residents as possible who need it. Councillors were also very much aware that most support was being identified online by Dorset Council and the Government and they wanted to ensure that all people would know help was available and so focused on getting information hand delivered.”

“Being at the heart of their communities, councillors have been able to help coordinate and support the massive amount of help that was offered by groups like Refresh and individual volunteers who wanted to play their part in their community. What is also very rewarding is the enthusiasm volunteers are showing to keep this momentum going even after the crisis is over”.

Support for the community in many areas is being coordinated between Weymouth Town Council and Dorset Councillors.

Weymouth Town Council will continue to put their full support behind many local campaigns and promote key messages from partners using the Council’s social media pages.

This comes as councillors and officers met yesterday for the first virtual meeting of the Full Council. The meeting took place on Zoom and can be viewed in full on Weymouth Town Council’s Facebook page.