After a busy week in Parliament it was lovely to be back home and return to the Werrington Community Library and Wellbeing Centre to meet members of the Werrington Community Volunteers Group and hear about the progress on their Therapy Log Cabin Project and the re-opening of the library.
I have been involved with the Community Volunteers Group for some years now and was pleased to invite them to speak at my Loneliness and Isolation Conference, ‘Beyond the Front Door’ last year. So much has happened since my last visit twelve months ago and it was really lovely to catch up with everyone and hear about what they have been doing.
The library is now open albeit on a very restricted basis with books having to be pre-ordered for collection. They can then be returned, isolated and then returned to the shelves. The trustees explained how, with guidance from Staffordshire County Council, they are operating a one-way system which, as I saw, is easy to understand and work with. The County Safety Officer approved their plans and awarded them a Covid Safe Certificate.
It was also lovely to hear about the progress with the Wellbeing Programme project and the Therapy Lodge Cabins. The external site is almost complete, and they are in the process of equipping the lodges. This work is being funded mainly by the Big Lottery Fund, but I also heard about the generosity of so many others in making donations to the site.
They are working on some fantastic programmes such as support sessions for local farmers feeling more isolated due to restrictions on seeing, working with and, socialising with their friends; sessions for carers who have had respite care suspended during lockdown and working with the CCG to offer 20 minute NHS health checks just to mention a few.
