With the country now in lockdown, but people’s lives still continuing, we are working to deliver services across the North West – focused on supporting people with urgent housing, health, care and wellbeing needs. There is a lot going on and we are helping wherever we can.
In many cases, such as our domestic abuse and addiction services, we are increasingly using (and developing) online support to help as many people as possible. Information and contact details for each can be found on our service websites.
We are also pleased to welcome new services and 30 staff into the Group, with Delhi now delivering support at HMP Garth and HMP Wymott.
We continue ensuring that emergency repairs are carried out for our Calico Homes customers, as well as important gas safety checks. Please make sure you allow the gas engineer access to do this if you receive an appointment.
The Burnley Together service is one of a number of new community hubs that have been established, and we are proud to be coordinating this on behalf of the local council. It provides help for people who are isolated, lonely or need food parcels, prescriptions and other essential support. They are available 7 days a week and can be contacted on 01282 686 402.
In the first week alone we received more than 600 calls, emails and messages. We have also had donations from local businesses all keen to support the work for the good of the town. Our special thanks goes to all of them.
I am proud of the fantastic local response to the coronavirus outbreak and it is very encouraging to see so many people coming together for the benefit of each other. I hope that this sense of community togetherness will endure long after the current crisis passes.
I am also proud of the work we have done over the past two weeks to respond to the need for “at risk” groups to be housed as a matter of urgency. Services from across The Calico group have joined together to refurbish and make available more than a dozen homes for additional emergency accommodation.
These homes will provide a safe place to stay for homeless people who need to self-isolate, and families escaping domestic abuse – the number of which is, sadly, still on the rise.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or know someone who is, please contact SafeNet on 0300 3033 581. If you are in immediate danger, please call 999 and ask for the police.
Finally, whilst many recruitment campaigns have been postponed, we are still looking for people to fill a number of key positions delivering essential services to our communities. If you’d like to help us to make a difference to some of the most vulnerable members of our community, please take a look at our current vacancies and get in touch today.
I hope you are all staying safe, staying indoors if you can, and looking after yourselves.
