County Kildare Chamber today joined Kildare County Council (Lead Partner) in joining with other local organisations in Kildare in the set-up of a Covid-19 Community Response Forum for Kildare.
A dedicated community support helpline has been established in Kildare County Council to assist at risk members of the public in accessing non-emergency and non-medical supports and advice during the current public health emergency. The confidential phoneline service is established by the new COVID-19 Kildare Community Response Forum, which includes over a dozen agencies and organisations. The helpline is focused primarily on ensuring that vulnerable members of the community or those living alone can access deliveries of groceries, medicine and fuels. The role of the Forum is to ensure that there is a co-ordinated community response and to enable all voluntary statutory agencies to collaborate in support of our communities and particularly of our most vulnerable members.
The dedicated contact number is 045 980202 with the lines open from 9.00am to 5.00pm seven days a week and is managed by Kildare County Council.
Allan Shine, CEO of the Chamber in Kildare said today, “Collaboration is key in this crisis that we all face, we welcome the response by Kildare County Council in setting up the Community Response Forum and we look forward to participating within it and ensuring that we add value to it when needed on behalf of the business community in Kildare”.
The new phone line is just one aspect of the Forum’s work. Its core aim is contributing to the community-wide effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. Kildare County Council, through this group, will ensure that the wide variety of groups working across the county to assist those in need, will do so in an organised, collaborative and targeted way. The Council’s COVID-19 Community Response Forum is there to ensure the very best use of the many resources assisting vulnerable persons with their daily needs at this unprecedented time, whether that is collecting medication, food shopping, social support and contact.
Contact details of this new service will be promoted on http://kildare.ie/countycouncil/coronavirusinformation/
An information leaflet including the new number and other information will be distributed around the county, particularly to vulnerable households, over the coming days.