Ross Good Neighbours continue to work hard for community

Ross Good Neighbours (RGN) volunteers are continuing to work hard for the vulnerable and isolated in the community by ensuring households who aren’t online or familiar with the internet are still connected to services which may have since moved online due to the Covid pandemic.

Services still being offered to the community by the RGN team are the ongoing grocery deliveries as well as recently added library book ordering and household recycling passes, which can be ordered by telephone and delivered to your door. Working with EnviroAbility and Ross Lions, green garden waste bags can now be bought by those without internet access from the Lions shop on Ross Market Place, and the EnviroAbility shop on Brookend Street in Ross-on-Wye town centre.

With a population of over 192,000, Herefordshire is classed as one of the most rural areas in the UK with over half the population here living in rural communities. In practical terms, this means that there is an increased chance, compared with other regions in the UK, that a large proportion of households may not have reliable internet access or may not be confident using the internet for their daily shopping or to access other services.

From March this year, the Ross Good Neighbours scheme worked tirelessly to ensure that those in isolation continued to receive their weekly shopping as well as much needed prescriptions, co-ordinated by the local Ross Lions and Rotary clubs. During lockdown, the RGN team received over 1,000 calls on their Message Line, made over 500 grocery deliveries and the prescriptions team exceeded an incredible 2,000 medication drops to isolated households.

As lockdown restrictions have been easing over the last few weeks, the RGN team has noticed a marked decline in requests for assistance. However, the team acknowledges that there is still a large proportion of the community who consider the RGN scheme their lifeline to accessing much valued services, such as grocery deliveries, ordering household recycling passes, library books and green garden waste bags.

Jane Roberts, Chair of the Ross Community Development Trust, commented: “Whilst we are delighted that the local community is now feeling more confident about venturing outside which is key to our general wellbeing, physical and mental health – the Ross Good Neighbours scheme is still very much available to assist anyone who needs help with grocery deliveries and other services such as ordering library books, garden waste bags and recycling passes for the local tip. We urge anyone who requires assistance or advice to call our new Message Line number on 01989 313002 and leave a message for one of our volunteers who will call them back”.

The Ross Good Neighbours team is also about to launch its Neighbourhood Buddy scheme, an organised network of local ‘buddies’ who will be available to help vulnerable households with daily tasks such as basic paperwork, light gardening, pet care or shopping. The Neighbourhood Buddy scheme was due to be launched in April 2020 but was put on hold as the team prioritised the much-needed response to community needs that lockdown created.  If you could volunteer to be a neighbourhood buddy, please email info@rosscdt.org.uk to find out more.

If you, or someone you know, would benefit from assistance or help with daily chores mentioned above, please contact the Ross Good Neighbours team on their new Message Line number, 01989 313002, or you can email help@rosscdt.org.uk.