Bray Area Partnership adapts to Covid-19 crisis
BRAY Area Partnership has been adapting its services to respond to the Covid-19 crisis – from delivering food packs in the community to providing online support sessions and workshops.
At a time when the Partnership’s services are more critical than ever, staff have switched to connecting with people by phone, email and video calls to be able to continue to provide much-needed information, mentoring and support. The Partnership’s Local Employment Service displays job vacancies in the window of its office in Bray Main Street and via social media, and continues to provide clients with information, guidance and support over the phone and online to explore their employment and career options and apply for jobs. ‘Maintaining this one-to-one connection with our clients is really important,’ said Partnership CEO Peter Brennan. ‘For example, in our ASPIRE Social Prescribing project, which works closely with clients to identify the supports and activities in their community that will improve their well-being.’
The Partnership is also providing information online through a regularly-updated Covid-19 webpage listing local and national information and resources, and regular social media updates on Covid-19, supports and jobs.
New online workshops and classes have included conversational English classes for migrants, Well-being group sessions, training for work such as Manual Handling, and workshops for new business clients such as Managing Your Business in a Crisis.
Fun videos on how to cook healthy versions of foods like pizza, and yoga and mindfulness classes especially for children, have been created and distributed via local schools involved in the Partnership’s Healthy Ireland Project and have had a great response from children and parents.
Partnership staff have been active in responding to local need with new initiatives such as the Bia Project, which delivers free food parcels and meals to families and people cocooning. The food is donated via local business Softworks and not-for-profit initiatives Food Cloud and Good Grub and is packed up in the Partnership’s SPECS Family Centre, for delivery by the company vans. The deliveries also provide a chance for staff to reconnect with clients on the doorstep and find out how they are doing.
The SPECS team has also continued to support families by dropping in activity packs for children and well-being packs to parents.
Local Social Enterprises can avail of one-to-one mentoring and training over the phone and online to help them trade successfully and plan their future business activity in these uncertain times via the Partnership’s SEED Project.
To access the different services, go to brayareapartnership.ie.