“You will not be on your own” - community group helping those in need in Calder Valley

The Old People’s Welfare Committee is supporting people in the Hebden Royd area with shopping, prescriptions, laundry and providing phone calls so that people don’t feel left behind.

Jan Lymer, who is co-ordinating the group’s Hebden Bridge operation, said: “We’re going to lose lives, the world is just not going to be the same.

“It’s human nature to want to take care of our own, so communities are coming together, people do want to support each other.

“I get volunteers ringing me saying ‘you haven’t given me a job yet’.

“It’s the human condition in our area, in the north, that we take care of our own.

“I’ve got a lady who is blind, in her 80’s, who lost her husband last year, who is completely bewildered and has no idea what to do.

“I have an old couple who’ve been on the phone for days but no-one’s rung them. We phoned them and said ‘we’re here for you’.

“Just the reducing of the stress levels, you could hear it in that chap’s voice. We said ‘you’ll get a call every week’.

“You’re not alone. We might struggle to get your online shopping organised but you will not be on your own.

“There are vulnerable groups out there that are petrified and do feel on their own at the moment, do feel isolated.”

Jan feels demand will start to rise as time goes on.

“It’s the calm before the storm, that’s for sure,” she said.

“We’ve got 250 people registered as isolating who require special support with the Hebden Bridge and District Old People’s Welfare Committee.

“We have 45 very high risk, or very lonely, with no social or family network behind them, that we’re providing support to.

“We have an online business register so that those businesses that are able to stay open, anybody who wants to shop local can buy local goods from local people and have them posted out.

“But it’s escalating. We’ve got 45 people on our books who’ve had help of some description, and from next week our telephone network service kicks in, so those who are isolated and lonely, or can’t get their shopping or medication, will get a weekly call to make sure they’re OK.

“We’re getting four or five registration’s a day for the group that needs help.

“We’re able to prevent people from queueing up outside where the risk is greater.

“We’re managing to get some deliveries out, particularly to the elderly, which means the queues on the streets are shorter and the risk in the shops are lower.

“And our volunteers are fabulous. It’s Hebden Bridge, of course they want to put their hand up and volunteer.

“We haven’t linked in with Calderdale, it’s just Hebden Bridge and the six hilltop villages, so we’re a little mini hub on our own.

“But when Calderdale’s get going we’ll be linking in with the bigger picture.”

Trevor Bannister, who is co-ordinating the Mytholmroyd operation, said: “We’re trying to identify anybody who’s self-isolating and make sure they’ve got the help and support they need.

“Even if it’s just somebody phoning them up every so often, just for a chat to see how they’re doing.

“For those who can’t get out, if they can’t make any other provision, we’ve got some arrangements in place to ensure they get their shopping, and with pharmacies.

“We know fewer people are going outside now so we’re just trying to fill that gap as best we can and make sure people have everything they need.”

Trevor says there are around 15 or 20 volunteers in Mytholmyroyd, and the initiative has helped around 30 people in need.

“At the moment we have enough people but that might change if some volunteers end up self-isolating, or more people are relying on the service.”

Trevor says the motivation behind the initiative is to ensure that no-one feels on their own during the coronavirus crisis.

He added: “There’s a lot of people who are either ill, not necessarily related to the virus, or find it hard to get out and are reliant on family or friends to take them to the shops, or the Tesco bus, which aren’t now available.

“Or if people have mobility issues and can’t get out and about, particularly some older folks in the area, they might not have family immediately to hand.

“We don’t want anybody to get left out, get overlooked or feel isolated.

“Even if it’s just something as simple as somebody phoning them up, we’ve got people that will do that, or do their shopping or pick up prescriptions.

“We’re just trying to make sure nobody gets overlooked and everybody gets what they need.”

If you are in the Hebden Royd area and would like to volunteer or register, or to find out more information on the scheme, email [email protected].

Or visit the Old People’s Welfare Committee website at www.opwc.org.uk to complete an online form to register either as a volunteer, or as self-isolating, or to add your company to the business register.