Rochdale Council sets up community hubs to support socially isolated in coronavirus fight

Four new hubs have been set up across Rochdale to support the most vulnerable members of the community who don’t have an existing network around them during the coronavirus pandemic.

Located in Rochdale, Littleborough, Heywood, and Middleton, these will organise the distribution of emergency food parcels and essential items as well as offering support to people who are socially isolated.

All staff will be trained in infection control and practise social distancing while they work.

To ensure that older and more vulnerable people who need help can get everything they need, including emergency food and essential items, Rochdale council and Link4Life will work with partner agencies and volunteers to make sure no one is left behind.

The hubs will also work with and support community and voluntary groups to ensure efforts are coordinated across the borough.

As well as supporting people with practicalities like getting vital supplies, volunteers will speak to people on the phone and offer a friendly voice and somebody to connect with if they’re feeling alone.

Council Leader Allen Brett, said: “This is a scary time for everybody, but particularly those who are older and more vulnerable. We judge ourselves on how we look after those who need our help the most, so we felt it was important to get this support in place as quickly as we could.

“I’m proud, but not surprised, by the fact that we already have a number of volunteers for our community hubs, both from our own staff and the community.

“Rochdale is really pulling together in this moment of crisis and the message is very clear: nobody in our borough will have to deal with this alone.”

People who are vulnerable and need to access support through the community hubs can phone 01706 923685 to access support. The out of hours contact number is 0300 303 8875.