Walsall’s communities, and the voluntary, community and faith organisations which work alongside them will play a significant role in the response to the coronavirus outbreak and supporting those most vulnerable to the impact. We are blessed with active communities and strong community organisations already working hard to ensure support is available to those who need it.

One Walsall is working alongside Walsall Council to coordinate and support the community’s response, and to provide support and advice to local community action. The Council’s approach is to develop a coronavirus response hub in each locality, building on the work of the existing Making Connections programme Hubs. These hubs will become the focal point for coordinating community and voluntary efforts across the borough.
Support to get involved, develop community action and deliver help

We have updated our website with simple tools to help us capture and share details of the activity being delivered within communities and provide a single route for residents who wish to volunteer to get involved.

• A dedicated portal for volunteers–residents who wish to get involved in local voluntary activity can register here and tell us about the skills and resources they have to offer. We will work partners and community organisations to link this offer with local needs and activity. We are currently developing a swift process of accreditation and training for volunteers responding to the outbreak. Click here to see more.

• A dedicated portal for community action– We have launched a dedicated portal for community groups and organisations to share details of what they are doing in response to the outbreak. As we build this database, we will be publishing the list, allowing you to search for activity in your area by locality, ward and type of activity offered. We will keep this updated on at least a daily basis. Click here to see more.

• Guidance, support and advice – we will continuously update the website with relevant advice, guidance, tools and other resources to support local community action whilst keeping staff, volunteers and those you support safe. Click here to see more.

A rapidly changing picture

If you register your interest in volunteering, or ask for help with your local community activity, please don’t be disheartened if you don’t hear back from us immediately. We are working hard to make sure the right offer is matched to the right need and we will contact you as we can. But we will contact you.  We will be updating our website as we identify new resources and receive further guidance from partners and national sources. We suggest you keep checking for updates and/or contact us for further advice or to provide information.
The power of the community

Whilst it’s might feel like there’s not much to be positive about right now, we’d highlight the incredible response we’ve already seen from local voluntary and community organisations and the residents of Walsall – We received over 60 offers to volunteer before we’d even launched the portal.

We have an incredible community, and we’re already seeing how well we can respond to a difficult situation. We know that everyone has something to give and we are extremely grateful to all those who put themselves forward to help.

#Walsallandproud