Lutterworth Crisis Action is a hugely inspiring community initiative which has been established to provide support to residents in Lutterworth during the Coronavirus pandemic. The scheme, which is led by St Mary's Church in Lutterworth, came about through initial conversations between the church and a number of committed community organisations based within the town, all of whom felt the need to develop a local response to help people get through the crisis.

The agencies involved in the scheme include:

• St Mary's Church
• Age Concern Lutterworth
• Lutterworth Town Council
• Lutterworth Community Transport
• Lutterworth Volunteer Centre
• Lutterworth and Villages Foodbank

Within a matter of days, the organisations involved came together in partnership to develop a scheme that recruits local volunteers and mobilises them to provide support to those most in need, particularly for people in households who are self-isolating during the Covid-19 crisis.

Coordination of volunteers was achieved by creating a page on the Church website (www.lutterworthchurch.org/crisis) with details of how local people could register to access help and support, and also details for people who wished to express their interest in volunteering. Two separate telephone lines were established to handle enquiries, along with a Facebook page and a group of volunteers also undertook a leaflet drop to households all over the town. A separate team was also established to manage food donations and deliveries, using the church as a warehouse

Very quickly, a considerable number of volunteers were recruited and mobilised into action. The main tasks undertaken by the volunteers include delivering groceries and other essential shopping; collection and delivery of medication; transport to essential medical appointments; and befriending support to reduce loneliness.

In total, the initiative has recruited nearly 150 volunteers and provided support to over 200 local residents who are impacted by the Covid crisis.

The scheme benefited from donations from a range of sources, including a grant from Leicestershire County Council's Communities Fund. Rev. Charlie Styles from St Mary's Church commented, "This is very much an example of what can be achieved when local community groups come together for the greater good. We are extremely fortunate that Lutterworth already has a number of excellent organisations operating locally. We have therefore been able to capitalise on the goodwill and expertise of all of the partner agencies involved, to create an initiative which has responded brilliantly to addressing the impacts of the current crisis. We are so grateful to all of the local residents who have come forward to volunteer, they have been amazing, and we really hope this scheme will have a lasting impact on the wellbeing of people in our town".

Leicestershire County Council's Local Area Coordinator for Lutterworth, Lynne Brydon Graham, has been regularly referring people to receive support through the scheme. Lynne has seen first-hand how the volunteers have helped to provide much needed support to vulnerable people in the town. Lynne stated, "This is an incredibly important initiative, which has benefitted so many people I work with. I can safely say that without the support of volunteers, many people in the community would be in a much worse place. This type of project is exactly what is needed in our communities right now and we are very lucky to have so many people in the town who want to help others".

More details about the scheme can be seen here.