Community resilience: What are groups in Dunbar, Dunpender, Haddington, Musselburgh and North Berwick doing?

TEAMS of volunteers are in place across East Lothian doing everything they can to help vulnerable members of their communities.

From collecting shopping and vital prescriptions to dog walking and simply being there for people, the volunteers are there for residents throughout the coronavirus crisis.

Here, we look at five of the groups who are giving up their own time to help out.

East Lothian Courier: Dunbar Dunbar

Dunbar

RESILIENCE volunteers are reviewing their role as the county moves from the ‘response’ to the ‘recovery’ phase.

The resilience team in Dunbar has been working hard for several months to ensure vulnerable members of the community get the help they require.

However, with lockdown restrictions easing, the need for assistance has decreased.

George Robertson, who has been heavily involved in the community resilience team, was pleased with the efforts of all those involved.

He told the Courier: “Many of our volunteers will soon be returning to work or may be taking a well-earned break with their families.

“It is clear that East Lothian Council would like some form of volunteer support to continue going forward and we expect some guidance on that in the near future.

“The initial response to our request for volunteers in early March was terrific, and we ended up with more on our books than we were able to use.

“It was fortunate that the calls for volunteer service were fewer then we first anticipated, but those who were used were kept busy with their regular customers for shopping, prescriptions and other ‘good neighbour’ services.

“As lockdown began to ease, people were more able and willing to venture out for themselves and even the ‘shielded’ category will soon be able to resume a more normal life with appropriate safeguards.

“More and more of the local shops are now offering home deliveries, so the calls for our services have reduced.

“The support offered by our volunteers was not all about shopping, and our elderly and isolated customers very much appreciated the social contact which this brought.

“We are now trying to help those who are anxious to return to self-sufficiency where possible.”

However, George stressed the efforts would not simply be stopping immediately.

Instead, volunteers will continue to be there for those who need them.

He added: “We are continuing to provide volunteers for foodbank deliveries and for the meals service.

“We work closely with The Ridge in Dunbar, who have been providing help and support to the vulnerable throughout this period.

“When we do transition to the recovery phase, which is expected to be around August 1, we will not abandon our charges and will continue to provide a service, albeit with a smaller team.”

Contact details

To contact the Dunbar resilience team, email Dunbar.covid19@gmail.com

East Lothian Courier: East Linton. Picture: Google Maps East Linton. Picture: Google Maps

Dunpender

COMMUNITY councillors hope to host their first meeting in several months in September.

Dunpender Community Council, which includes East Linton, Tyninghame and Whitekirk, has been heavily involved in the resilience efforts in the three villages.

Judith Priest, chairwoman of the group, said they planned to wind up the resilience efforts at the end of this month, although volunteers were still available to help people.

The community council now hopes to return to normal business, with a meeting in September.

Contact details

Information relating to the coronavirus and assistance in the area can be found at www.tyninghamevillagehall.org.uk or www.eastlinton.uk.com

Further assistance can also be found by calling 07514 136334 or 07933 709745.

East Lothian Courier: Haddington Haddington

Haddington

RESILIENCE volunteers will be on hand to help if there is a second wave of the coronavirus.

A squad of volunteers has been working hard in Haddington since lockdown restrictions were introduced in March.

However, the group plans to wind up at the end of this month.

Chris McEwan, who has been leading the community resilience efforts in the town, said the group continued to get fewer and fewer calls.

He stressed that assistance would be available if restrictions were reintroduced but he was hopeful the volunteers would play more of a secondary role to East Lothian Council.

He said: “We would expect that the council will have a little bit more of a robust plan. “They have had enough time to plan for it.

“We are meant to be there to assist them in the short term but we have been doing it for four months.

“The whole resilience team idea was to be there to help during bad weather or snow storms.

“We were not really designed to do what we did but all the single points of contact stood up and helped where we could and did what we could.”

Chris, who is also vicechairman of the town’s community council, said there had been fewer than half a dozen calls to them in the past week, with those calls relating to the collection of prescriptions.

One of the other services offered by the resilience group is a lending library, which offers a loan of books, games and jigsaws.

Chris said the group had taken the decision to not offer DVDs, which had instead been sold to an internet site and the money reinvested in the lending library.

Contact details

Anyone needing assistance can call 07952 003386 between 10am and 4pm.

Further information surrounding the coronavirus and the help on offer is available from the community council’s website, www.haddingtoncc.org.uk

East Lothian Courier: Musselburgh. Picture: Google Maps Musselburgh. Picture: Google Maps

Musselburgh

A FAMILY has praised Resilient Musselburgh for the “warm welcome” to their new home in the town.

Owain Evans, his wife Mary, their son Reuben, 11, and daughter Savannah Rose, aged seven, moved from Tanzania in East Africa to the Honest Toun recently, after a few weeks’ quarantine.

Their first priority was to buy a copy of the Courier, where they saw an article about the Musselburgh Tool Library, which has supported Resilient Musselburgh’s efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Owain said he called Resilient Musselburgh as they were in need of some tools but were delighted to also receive colouring books and chocolates for their children as an added bonus.

Owain said: “What a warm welcome to our new home – we were really touched.”

He explained: “What was tricky was being out in Tanzania teaching and all the flights were cancelled for months.

“We didn’t know how or when we’d be able to leave. That was a little stressful but in the end the UK put on a special emergency repatriation flight that we managed to get onto.”

The family are now settling into their new home on High Street, where they are involved in creating a communal garden at the back of the building.

Owain has now become a volunteer with Resilient Musselburgh, helping to deliver copies of the Courier to vulnerable local residents in the community.

Iain Clark, chairman of Musselburgh Area Partnership, paid tribute to the volunteers and those who have donated goods and funds during the pandemic.

He said: “A big thank you to First Step Community Project for their financial donation, and Resilient Musselburgh really appreciated the delivery of 800 new books organised by Councillor Andy Forrest through BaxterStorey, G4S and Royal Bank of Scotland, sourced from the Scottish Book Trust.

“These will help alleviate isolation and loneliness at this time for many in the community.”

Contact details

To get in touch with Resilient Musselburgh, call 07871 729037.

East Lothian Courier: North Berwick. Copyright William Starkey and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. North Berwick. Copyright William Starkey and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

North Berwick

THE North Berwick Community Emergency Resilience (CER) team is preparing to stand down at the end of the month after almost four months of providing help and support to hundreds of people across the community.

Judy Lockhart, North Berwick Community Council chairwoman, said people throughout North Berwick had responded magnificently to the challenges of Covid-19.

She said: “The community response has been inspiring.

“Individuals, clubs, businesses and organisations have all given support and helped each other through.

“The CER team plugged gaps services couldn’t fill, so vulnerable people in North Berwick got food, prescriptions and felt part of the community.”

Sue Northrop, who holds responsibility for the community council’s emergency plan, said the team was planning a phased exit and had set up a small transition group to ensure that people who might need extra help after lockdown were supported and connected to the community.

She said: “The CER team is proposing the town retains much of the capacity developed to meet the emergency on an ongoing basis, not just future Covid-19 spikes and future emergencies, but as a resource for the whole community and the many groups and charities in the town.”

These include:

Street links – neighbours as a contact in each street;
Volunteer shoppers – for people who need a bit of extra help;
Volunteer database – a resource for the community;
Digital inclusion project – helping people get online and build the skills and confidence to use it;
NB resilience fund – a resource for the community;
Assets register – a map of the assets the team has and values: people, places, networks and resources.

The CER team is also working with East Lothian Council and local organisations to prepare for any future emergency.

It is holding a series of online events and a short survey to get experiences and views about Covid-19 across the community.

These will be used to develop a new community emergency response plan for a new team to take over.

There is a webinar being held on Saturday (July 18) at 10am.

For the webinar, register at bit.ly/2Z3Y6nI

To take part in the online survey on ‘North Berwick and Covid-19: Sharing Experiences and Views’, go to www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DRXYH2W

Meanwhile, the team is providing free face coverings for those who need them.

People can collect them from the community centre on Fridays between 10am and noon.

Contact details

As usual, if residents need help with shopping or prescriptions they can go to www.nbresilience.com or phone 07745 636441.

Other resilience groups' contact details

Aberlady