Connect to Wellbeing

The  Connect To Wellbeing Programme was developed as a direct result of the COVID 19 emergency.  The projects principle aim is to support vulnerable people, who are isolated and / or in poor health or in hardship to achieve Wellbeing. A Volunteer Coordinator recruits community volunteers to assist with transporting people to the Centre as appropriate, and to provide new wellbeing services virtually. Additionally, given that many people are experiencing a drop in income the Volunteer Coordinator will oversee a mobile community pantry that will visit rural wards bringing FareShare food to isolated community members to help sustain a healthy diet.

This project supports wellbeing by establishing a volunteer base of befrienders and helpers who, when COVID restrictions allow, will collect vulnerable people from their homes and bring them to the Wellbeing Centre at Gellideg and will operate a mobile pantry across rural wards. 

All volunteers  have a skills audit to determine their training needs. As a minimum, each volunteer will be DBS checked, be trained in supporting vulnerable children and adults and will have additional driving skills lessons as appropriate. Volunteers are rewarded with Time-banking credits.

Potential users of the Connect to Wellbeing scheme can self-refer by contacting the Gellideg Foundation Group  or can be referred via social workers or other health or voluntary sector professionals. Without the Connect to Wellbeing programme, isolated residents in poor health would not be able to access the new services that are available at the Gellideg Wellbeing Centre or the subsidized food from the mobile pantry.