One of the many attractions of our beautiful district, is its rurality. Our 360 square miles is home to four charming market towns, and around 80 idyllic villages.
Having lived in a village, and representing the rural ward of Casewick, I appreciate the tranquillity and peace that village life can bring. But I also know that for those who cannot so easily travel or even get out of their homes, village life can also be isolating and lonely.
Villages don’t have the monopoly on loneliness and social isolation, it can exist in our towns, or even the busiest of cities, but it is a particular challenge in areas where amenities are few and public transport limited.
The essential social restrictions we are now all facing in the fight against the coronavirus bring such issues to the fore and have the potential to widen their impact. Which is why, at the council, one of the first things we did as Covid-19 became a reality, was to establish our Community Hub.
The Hub, staffed by South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) employees operates seven days a week from 8am to 7pm, as a central point of contact for those needing help and those offering it. We work closely within our district and with partners at a county level, as part of a network to support those most in need. So far, we have responded to nearly 600 calls or emails.
We are also being proactive in caring for our communities through our befriending service, which identifies and reaches out to our most vulnerable residents.
More than 20 SKDC staff have redeployed to this service, set-up to provide community support during this difficult and anxious time. By ringing round residents identified as potentially vulnerable, we are able to identify if help is, or may be needed, and what that help looks like. We have been running this service fully for 10 days now, and more than 400 potentially vulnerable people have been contacted.
At the council, our focus is three-fold: protecting the health and wellbeing of our residents and our staff; continuing to deliver our critical services; and supporting our local businesses. Every decision we make is centred on protecting lives and livelihoods.
Which is why we have refocused InvestSK at this time to support resilience and business continuity. When we come through this, which we will, it is vital that our local businesses are in as strong a position as possible. Which is why we did not wait for the promised Government funding to come through before contacting those businesses eligible for grants, rent or rates relief.By being proactive and on the front foot, we have been able to get funds and relief there they are needed quicker, and more efficiently. In the first five days of the monies being available, we issued more than £15 million worth of grants to support our local businesses.
Connectivity, caring and compassion have never been more important. With the selflessness, generosity, and kindness of our staff and the army of volunteers and good neighbours; and the determination and resilience of our businesses; the one thing we can be sure of in these uncertain times, is that we will get through this, and we will do it together.
