Keswick’s mini army of volunteer street wardens is making sure the town is staying ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to helping local residents cope with living through the international coronavirus crisis.
Nearly 70 official street wardens have swiftly been appointed to visit housebound people, including the elderly and others self-isolating, and to help with shopping for urgent supplies or simply providing a friendly phone-call or up-to-the-minute information.
Ten zone co-ordinators, each covering an average of six to eight streets, have also been appointed by Keswick Community Emergency Recovery Partnership. KCERP was set up in 2005 to respond to flooding but is now organising the town’s COVID-19 initiative as a back-up for the emergency services.
Leaflets have already been posted through the doors of every household in Keswick, explaining the emergency help on offer to those in enforced lockdown.
“What an amazing effort for such a small town,” said KCERP’s lead officer Heather Askew, who has been busy organising logistics on the phone and on the internet as she is in self-isolation herself after her son developed a cough. She added: “We had a little bit of a head start with our network of (flood) volunteers. A lot of other communities are catching up quickly now.
“Our volunteers come from all over the town and all walks of life. They’re just local people who want to help and make a difference and are concerned about their town. We have had a lot of feedback saying how reassuring it is that something like this is in place – that people can ask if they need to and that it is great they know they (the street wardens) are there for them, especially since the announcement on Monday about the lockdown.
“I am still receiving calls from people asking ‘what can I do to help’. That is what we all need to do – help and look after each other. This is going to go on for a really long time in one form or another. There is no quick answer unfortunately.”
She said Keswick’s population of around 5,000 involved covering roughly 2,000 homes. The network is already paying dividends, with street warden Anne Paylor receiving this message from one of her residents in Zone 9. “It is so very comforting to know that help is there if we should need it. Apart from the practical help, it is such a good feeling to find that we live in a community with such caring, neighbourly people. You have got organised very quickly after it dawned on us just how serious it was going to be. Thanks again and best wishes for the health of all the volunteers – remember to look after yourselves as well!”
Another self-isolating resident responded: “Thank you so much for putting the little letter through our letterbox yesterday afternoon. We are most grateful to you and all the other Keswick volunteers. It really is a very difficult and scary time for everybody but I think as long as we all know we are not on our own we can get through the challenges life sometimes throws at us.”
Similar street warden networks are being set up in Braithwaite and Thornthwaite, while KCERP covers Portinscale, Applethwaite, Threlkeld and Borrowdale. Meanwhile, the Government has asked for 250,000 volunteers to come forward nationally to help the UK tackle coronavirus.
Di Cannon, co-ordinator for KCERP’s Zone 5, said: “It’s all about making sure that no-one is forgotten. We do, however, need to make sure that all of our volunteers stay safe, so whilst we provide this service as a safety net for residents, it’s still important to keep exposure to a minimum and do everything at the recommended two-metre distance.”
Both the Co-op and Booths stores have set up “cash free” systems for shopping, so friends or volunteers can shop on behalf of a resident in lockdown and payment can be made over the telephone. Booths is also offering home delivery for various pre-packed boxes, including a meat box, essentials box and a ready meals box. Caterite is offering a click and collect service from their Embleton depot.
