Coleford has its own Resilience Plan, managed by the Town Council, where local volunteers help to address incidents at a basic level, linked into the Forest of Dean District Council and Gloucestershire County Council networks as necessary.
Local people have local knowledge which can be invaluable at times of emergency: knowing the back route to get to somewhere, the point up the bridge when the warning about potential for flooding needs communicating are instances which make a difference when incorporated into the network.
If transport and routes are constrained, then local resources need to be linked to residents, so with the Covid pandemic in the first three months, over 150 actions meant people delivered prescriptions, shopping, people walked dogs and so on.
Some links simply become good friends: our butty system meant specific people were linked with one helper who knew what was wanted from the type of cornflakes, to the need for more help obtained through the Council office in the first place, and through District /County as required. The relationship was easily as important as the goods.
This Plan (or a part of it) is brought into effect when needed and stood down later. Risk is assessed: no-one is expected to undertake any task for which Emergency Services are trained.
The Plan can cover different sorts of emergency, but focusses around co-ordination, people out and about and welfare actions. Many of our volunteers feel they gain new skills, are part of a team with purpose and get to know their patch and their community in a completely new way.
If you would like to know more, volunteer, contact us….