Communities and voluntary groups have been incredible in supporting local people in Scotland through coronavirus.
As Scotland moves beyond the protection levels, it remains vital to act carefully and remain cautious, particularly when supporting vulnerable people in your community.
Follow Advice - Protect Yourself and Those You Want to Help
By protecting yourself, your family and getting the vaccine if offered, you are already supporting your community by reducing the spread of coronavirus.
Do not volunteer to help your community if you or a member of your household has symptoms. Follow the appropriate isolation advice before resuming any volunteering activities.
All the latest evidence-based advice on protecting vulnerable people is on NHS Inform. Before making any plans with your community, please ensure you are familiar with this advice.
Supporting Communities Safely
The Scottish Community Development Centre, in partnership with Public Health Scotland, has created Supporting Communities Safely, a website with detailed advice on how your community group can operate safely, return to delivering community services and reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
Vulnerable residents may find themselves susceptible to scams. Sign up to Neighbourhood Watch Scotland alerts for information about scams in your area and share this through your groups’ online communications.
Communicating
Keeping lines of communication open with members of your community will help everyone to feel connected.
Share accurate and trusted information with local residents through your group’s online platforms, keeping in touch regularly with updates, news about the community and sharing the latest advice from NHS Inform and Scottish Government.
Community Resilience Groups
Community Resilience Groups exist all round Scotland and help their communities through a range of challenges. They are an essential part of response and recovery when working with organisations such as the local authority, NHS and emergency services.
Ensure that your group is connected with the responders in your area – starting with your local authority’s emergency planning team.
If you have a Community Emergency Plan it would be good to revisit that or consider developing a plan now.
Further Advice
For advice in healthcare and other professional settings see Health Protection Scotland.
Help and advice from SCVO, including about funding, see the Coronavirus Third Sector Information Hub.
