The Bungalow is helping the community
What good is an empty music venue? Not much I hear you say - but the staff from The Bungalow formed a committee and set up a helpline to help overcome the impact Covid-19 and help those most in need.
Jodie Campbell who is a director of The Bungalow identified a gap in provision existed among what was going on in the community.
She sent in a grant application to Awards for All to provide out of hours support for when other organisations are closed and was successful.
The team arrange shopping and prescriptions to be delivered walk pets and top up energy meters.
In addition they sign post to other services to meet needs out with these such as emotional support from the STAR project, mental health assistance from RAMH and citizens advice for money worries.
At the moment the building is used as a drop of point for donations of food, toiletries and essential items for other organisations, helping them stay safe.
They have of course followed all the safety guidelines such as a strict cleaning process and having an isolation zone for donated items until infection is no longer a risk.
The items are then distributed to our local organisations in one trip minimising the amount of time they spend receiving donations.
Since the launch eight weeks ago, they have received over 2,000 enquiries to date, signposted 800 people to other agencies, delivered 650 prescriptions, went shopping for 675 people and have helped with collections for the local food pantry and foodbank.
It all started with leafleting over 5,000 properties across Renfrewshire going out to local charities registered with OSCR, all social work departments, doctor surgeries, housing associations, and local health care partnership to spread the word.
Local shops and pharmacies have the hotline number which is 0141 488 2471.
The priorities of the project is people who are either shielding, have a medical condition that puts them at high risk from Covid-19, or are self isolating due to having a case (or suspected case) of Covid-19 within their household.
The team also support organisations facing increased demand by collecting donations for them and delivering in one go rather than multiple drop-offs.
An important part of the project is supporting those isolating due to illness and indirectly by making sure those at risk or affected by other issues such as their employment and income ceasing so they have somewhere they can call for support and advice.
Coordinator of the project, Jennifer Leitch said: “We don’t provide food or care packages – we believe that other organisations: The Community Fridge, STAR and the food bank are better placed to do this as they are already have a large client base and distribute donations direct to numerous places.
“However, we do deliver food parcels in order to support these organisations to deliver their frontline work and we do arrange shopping for those who can afford their shopping.
“In an emergency we will cover the cost of two weeks shopping, where the person would not qualify for the other services. For example, this week we have covered the cost of shopping for a lady who has to stay at home for 12 weeks, has no informal support from friends and family has no cash in her house and a bank card that only allows for cash uplift. We covered the cost so that the lady could stay safely at home.”
One of The Bungalow’s directors, Alan McEwan said “There may be no music going on at The Bungalow but it is still playing an important role in the community. Well done to the team at The Bungalow.”