Devon County Council has contributed £100,000 to the Devon Coronavirus Response and Recovery Fund after an emergency appeal was launched by the Devon Community Foundation.
The Devon Community Foundation is an organisation that helps distribute funds to charitable and voluntary groups in the county to provide them with sustainable support and enables them to create change in their communities.
They set up the fund to help local charities and community organisations that are supporting the most vulnerable people affected by the outbreak of coronavirus.
Hundreds of people from across Devon have answered the call to help care for the county’s most vulnerable residents.
It followed an appeal last week by Devon County Council, as it launched an urgent campaign to recruit Healthcare Assistants – a vital role to support social care providers and the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic.
Around 600 people have so far registered their interest, including students, college leavers, retired health professionals and people who are not working. Members of the County Council’s own staff have also registered, to be redeployed from...
Teachers and staff in nearly 170 Devon schools are working over the Easter holidays to provide care and support for the children of key workers.
The Government ordered schools across the country to close their doors a week early for Easter because of the coronavirus crisis but asked staff to remain open for the children of key workers such as NHS staff, care workers, delivery drivers and those in the food industry.
Devon's schools have identified which pupils qualify and determined if their families wanted a place.
Devon residents including job seekers, students back from university, college leavers and former care and health staff are needed now to support the county’s most vulnerable.
Healthcare Assistants are a frontline role to support Devon's NHS and social care as coronavirus puts even greater pressure on existing services and staff.
Both temporary and permanent workers are needed to fill a variety of shift work, including evenings and weekends, in residential homes, hospitals and in people's own homes.
You may need to support people with their personal care needs...
Hundreds of council workers in Devon are operating as another emergency service during the coronavirus crisis according to county council leader John Hart, who has praised their dedication.
"I couldn't be more proud of the way staff have responded to the crisis in so many different ways over the past few weeks," he said.
"Team Devon is on the front line of the battle against this virus."
This weekend hundreds of extremely vulnerable people have been contacted by county and district workers as part of the 'shielding' effort to ensure everyone who has to stay home...
A new on-demand subsidised taxi service is being trialled by Devon County Council to help key workers travel to and from work.
The impact of the coronavirus has seen bus companies report up to a 90% reduction in passenger numbers, leading to a drastic reduction in services and many companies only maintaining critical routes.
In order to replace those journeys previously made by bus, the County Council is introducing the “Key Cars” initiative which provides key workers with lifts to work for a subsidised flat fare.
Devon County Council has launched the COVID-19 Prompt Action Fund to help provide valuable funding to organisations working in communities that have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
The scheme, which only launched this week, has had over 80 applications already.
The grants of less than £500 will help voluntary and community groups to tackle the social and economic impacts of the virus outbreak and help those who are most vulnerable in their communities.
The funding can be used to address issues such as:
Devon County Council has pledged that it will do everything it can to help local businesses through the coronavirus outbreak and ensure a strong recovery for the local economy.
The authority is encouraging businesses to visit the Heart of the South West Growth Hub to find essential information on available support and advice.
The Growth Hub, which is delivered by the County Council on behalf of the HotSW Local Enterprise Partnership, can help provide businesses with details of the Government’s proposals on Business Rate Relief and how eligible businesses can apply for...
Libraries Unlimited has announced that libraries across Devon will temporarily close from Friday 20 March, in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Across the county, library staff are trying to continue to provide library services in different ways.
In Exeter, they are trialling ‘books by post’. Others will be providing online sessions such as Bounce & Rhyme, reading groups, and story times. There will be IT help, provided remotely.
Staff will be checking in by telephone with customers who they know to be vulnerable and needing social contact.
In order to help residents parking outside their homes while working from home or self-isolating during the Coronavirus outbreak, the County Council’s parking enforcement teams will reduce enforcement on certain roads – although double yellow lines will still be enforced.
Changes to routine patrols will enable officers to concentrate their efforts on keeping key routes running normally.
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “We must keep the network moving but we also recognise the concerns in residential areas where...
