The Argus' Pride of Gwent awards were held last week, in which a plethora of dedicated volunteers were hailed for their hard work during the pandemic. Here we highlight just one of them.
BERNARD Dawson’s action to help those shielding or self-isolating over the past 12 months has inspired similar programmes in other communities and earned him the Community Hero Award, sponsored by Gwent Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Bernie, as he’s known, drew on a quarter of a century’s experience as a police officer to bring together an army of volunteers to shop and collect medicines for vulnerable people in Caerwent.
He wanted to make sure that nobody, particularly the elderly, fell foul of scams.
Bernie’s approach was to split Caerwent into five distinct areas, each with a co-ordinator overseeing a number of volunteers. Leaflets were printed and delivered to every household and protocols were established with pharmacies and GP practices.
Building on the Caerwent experience, Bernie has gone on to advise other communities keen to set up similar programmes, along with Monmouthshire County Council, which asked for help in establishing safe working practices.
Elsewhere, Bernie helped a local GP practice to obtain face masks after arranging a fundraising web page and getting Michael Thomas to make them using his 3D printer.
Sponsor Gwent Police says its role is to protect and reassure:
“We make communities in Gwent safer places to visit, live and work in,” it says.
“From rural Monmouthshire to urban Newport, we work within our communities to tackle crime and protect vulnerable people. We want people to feel safe as they go about their everyday lives.
“Our neighbourhood policing teams tackle crime, reassure through their visibility and using their knowledge of the area to solve local issues.
“Our dedicated crime teams deal with the most serious offences such as fraud, murder and sexual offences. We also have specialist teams such as our dog handling team, firearms and our public protection unit who support our officers and protect the public.
“Modern policing means that we work very closely with other local forces to tackle region-wide crime such as county lines drugs gangs and modern day slavery; we also support national operations and tackle issues such as terrorism working with colleagues across the UK and wider.
“And behind our officers is a team of police staff working to support the force in delivering the best possible service to you. From our call handlers dealing with 999 calls to our recruitment team attracting new faces to join us, we have a wide range of roles that help us make a difference.
“Keeping our local communities safe is what we are focussed on and we are extremely pleased to support individuals who also go the extra mile to make Gwent a better place for all.”
Police and crime commissioner Jeff Cuthbert said: "I am elected to represent the people of Gwent and ensure that they receive the best possible service from their police force.
“Gwent is an incredibly diverse region made up of large suburban areas, traditional valleys towns, vast rural countryside and a thriving city.
"Every resident has the right to live their lives free from hate, fear and harm.
"I have committed, through my Police and Crime Plan for Gwent, to work to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour, support victims of crime, and help to build more cohesive communities. I am also committed to ensuring that Gwent Police delivers an efficient and effective service to the public.
"There are many demands on modern policing but when we look at the big issues facing Gwent today it is clear that no single agency can solve them on their own.
"This has never been more apparent than during the covid pandemic, where policing and its partners have been tested like never before. This is as well as dealing with existing issues such as serious and organised crime, domestic abuse and child exploitation.
"However, I know that we are stronger, and that we can achieve real change, when we work in partnership together.
"I would like to pay tribute to everyone from the emergency services who go above and beyond the call of duty every day to keep the residents of Gwent safe and well.
"I wish all the nominees the very best of luck. You are all a credit to your profession and the communities you serve.”
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