A COMMUNITY has rallied around its vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic – and spread further afield.

Multiple groups in Risca have been set up to help out and ease the worry and struggles of their neighbours.

Among them is the Risca Cov19 Volunteers. There are more than 40 in the group who are collecting medication, shopping for groceries and delivering to people’s doorsteps. The service is offered by delivering contact cards given to the group by Caerphilly County Borough Council with personal details on for residents to contact.

South Wales Argus:

Mark Hannis

A statement from the group said: “When the media is full of stories of selfishness and greed, it is heart-warming to see how the community of Risca are pulling together to ensure their vulnerable residents and keyworkers have all they need during these scary times.”

“We are helping our neighbours and people we may have never met.”

Volunteers regularly call isolated residents to make sure they have everything they need and to keep in touch.

“We are very thankful for the support of our local councillors and hope to continue reaching out to those in need within our community," said the statement. "This is a massive group effort that we are all incredibly proud of.”

South Wales Argus:

Anthony Smith

Another group which covers the whole of Gwent is Prescription Riders Gwent. They collect and deliver prescriptions all over Gwent. It was an idea between rider Anthony Smith and Crumlin military motorcycle club Patriots MC president Mark Hannis.

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Mr Smith said: “It was created on the basis that riders already have the basic PPE as standard for riding including face masks, visors, and gloves as well as the fact that you ride on your own. It seemed to tick all the boxes regarding health and safety and government guidelines.”

South Wales Argus:

Dean Draycott

“We now have around 20 riders, both male and female. Most of whom are either in the military or veterans along with local businessman. We cover prescription collections and small package deliveries for the whole of the Gwent area, and are growing into Cardiff and Rhondda.”

South Wales Argus:

Steve Sage of Sage & Co

They are working closely with Pobl Housing Association, and through them have been made key workers. Community officer for Pobl Dafydd Hellard said: “Since lockdown, we have been making regular calls to residents about their needs and welfare. Most of the concerns were about getting their medication. We got in touch with the group and they have been a massive help. A lot of our residents have been anxious about having to go out to get their prescriptions when they have been needing to isolate, so the group have helped to alleviate their worries by volunteering to collect and deliver them.”

Beth Williams set up a Facebook support group titled Self Isolation – help for the vulnerable and elderly against coronavirus. She initially started it a week before the official lockdown after having to self-isolate herself.

South Wales Argus:

Beth Williams and her son Michael

Ms Williams said: “I found myself self-isolating due to my child having a high temperature. I found I needed someone to do my shopping and thought I couldn’t be the only one.

“I am a Labour activist, although this group is not political, but this means that I have friends across the UK and so the group is not just local, it has people from across the UK.

“At first it was set up to match volunteers and people in need via a postcode database I and several admins were keeping. But when the lockdown came into effect, more local groups began to pop up and so we signpost requests for shopping to these groups.”

The group has remained as an emotional support group for lonely and vulnerable people to talk and keep engaged as Ms Williams believes that mental health is extremely important in getting through the crisis. The group also offers a befriending service, but people are able to talk about anything they want to.

Risca councillor Robert Owen said: “On behalf of all the local councillors in Risca, we are very lucky to have people not only of some considerable compassion but also great leaders, to have got our community off to a flyer in terms of looking after our most vulnerable and we thank them one and all.”