District Wide Community Support Groups and Agency Contacts

Need Help?

If you are self-isolating and would like to ask for help, please complete our COVID-19 Support Request Form, and we will pass your details onto your relevant community group, alternatively, a list of district wide support groups is available below:

District Wide Support Groups and Agency Contacts

Name of Organisation

Details of support available and contact information

East Cambridgeshire Hub

The East Cambridgeshire Hub has been established to ensure that everybody has access to the support and information that they need during the COVID-19 crisis. It provides support to communities and will respond to individual offers of help or requests for assistance. The Hub will connect with and support mutual aid and other local community-led initiatives.

Countywide Hub

The Countywide Hub is focussed on supporting residents who have been identified as shielding and being of the highest risk, including ensuring access to food and medicines.

Care Network

Care Network’s free telephone support is available to clients and professionals Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Our Community Navigators continue to work with people to find available local support and activities, including:

  • Support on hospital discharge to return home safely, and help to remain independent at home, including access to our Help at Home service for essential shopping and prescription collection;

  • Signposting to agencies offering practical help around the home and garden (at the current time these would be predominantly paid for options);

  • Support to manage your well-being with information on social groups and support services, including referral to our Project Catalyst Wellbeing Phone line (including Volunteer Check and Chat);

  • Information on Community Transport options;

  • Links to other local support services.

To discuss what’s available in East Cambridgeshire please contact our District Coordinators Joanne Jackman and Charlotte Wood at East Cambs Navigators Care Network email or call 01353 659639.

To refer directly to our Help at Home service for essential food and medical supply delivery (for people who cannot access other options) please phone 01223 714433.

Lifecraft

Lifecraft is a membership organisation, so some of our services are for members only. New members are not currently being accepted, however, there may be existing members in East Cambridgeshire who we would be in contact with direct.

The two services that are available to non-members across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are Lifeline, and Suicide Bereavement Support.

Lifeline is the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Helpline. It is a freephone number and is available from 2:00pm to 11:00pm every day, Tel: 0808 808 2121. It provides listening support and information to people experiencing mental distress or supporting someone in distress. More information can be found at Lifecraft website.

Suicide Bereavement Support Service is available to the family and friends of loved ones lost to suicide in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area. More information can be found at the Lifecraft website, or email Lifecraft email, Tel: 01223 566957.

Scope

The helpline advisers at Scope can assist with information on health and wellbeing, work and coronavirus, and education support through coronavirus.

Our website also has information from Scope on coronavirus relating to disability. We can signpost people to local coronavirus volunteer groups and make them aware of the support in the area. The volunteer groups are usually found through the COVID-19 Mutual Aid website.

We can discuss people's situations and help try to find solutions for them. We also have an online community on our website. This is a supportive space where people can ask questions and share experiences.

Scope Helpline:

Voluntary and Community Action East Cambridgeshire

We offer volunteering support services to individuals who wish to volunteer and to community groups who are looking for volunteer placements, we also offer support services to charities around governance, training and funding. Most of our services are free.

Among our projects, we operate the East Cambridgeshire Social Car Scheme, using volunteer drivers we will ensure people are able to access local transport to attend hospital or doctors appointments and other essential journeys. Our drivers will take you, wait until you are ready, and then return you home safely.

Please note that during lockdown we are working from home.

SERV

Within East Cambridgeshire District we are working with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) to deliver much-needed PPE to medical centres across Cambridgeshire, including the Princess of Wales Hospital, Ely.

We would be happy to increase our activities in East Cambridgeshire in partnership with NHS-related organisations, to transport medical supplies to where they are needed. Any queries should be addressed to SERV operations email in the first instance.

CHS Group - Project: Cambridgeshire Local Assistance Scheme CLAS

Information, advice and practical support for people experiencing financial difficulty and hardship. The practical support can be in the form of new white goods, recycled white goods and supermarket vouchers for food and clothing.

How to make a referral, or self-refer to CLAS during COVID-19:
Please use guidelines including eligibility requirements and contact details: 

Stroke Association

The Stroke Association is a national charity that supports people affected by stroke. We rely on funding from local government or councils to run area specific support.

The Here for You service has been set up in direct response to COVID-19:

Centre 33

We are here to listen and to help. We provide free and confidential support and information for young people up to the age of 25. We are working remotely across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough via telephone, WhatsApp, text and email.

We can support young people with their emotional wellbeing and their practical needs. We specialise in mental health, caring responsibilities and housing as well as supporting with sexual health, benefits, money issues, careers and education. Young people can come to us for help with anything and we will find them some support.

If we are unable to answer the phone, please leave a message, email or text and someone will get back to you as soon as we can.

The Kite Trust

At The Kite Trust, the health and wellbeing of members of our community is paramount, and for that reason we have taken the decision to move to delivering all of our youth work services remotely for the foreseeable future and postpone the delivery of any training or workshops to a later date. We will create opportunities for young people who use our services to seek support and to maintain connections, and for adults to ask questions. For that reason we will continue providing one-to-one support to young people via email, telephone, and video calling. We will also be hosting groups for young people using video calls, and developing other forms of social connection and support over the coming weeks.

Contact your regular youth worker, or email Kite Trust email for more details. We are dedicated to looking out for your wider LGBTQ+ community by preventing the spread of this virus as much as we are able, and offering support to those in need.

Tel: 07808 189 158 mornings, or leave a voicemail.

Marie Curie

Our services help people living with any terminal illness, and their families, make the most of the time they have left. This is a particularly difficult time for families with the pandemic putting further restrictions in place in line with social distancing advice, shielding and isolation. We offer seven days per week support to anyone, regardless of if they are receiving Marie Curie care, via an online chat facility found on Marie Curie website or via our confidential information and support line: freephone 0800 090 2309.

COVID-19 is a time of uncertainty and we appreciate that there are a lot of questions regarding terminal conditions and the virus and it may not feel right to tackle those with the people closest to you. Marie Curie can offer practical advice and support, or just lend a listening ear if you or a loved one is struggling.

Fenland Chronic Illness Support Group

Fenland Chronic Illness Support Group offer an informal setting to share advice and to draw comfort from a group setting. We usually meet in Starbucks, The Cloisters, Ely twice a month (second and last Friday at 10:30am) and additionally support each other through our Facebook page. Due to coronavirus we are having to adapt and are now holding our meetings once a week, Fridays at 11:00am via Zoom. It is providing a good way to lift the groups morale and the members are enjoying still seeing each other.

We are always welcoming new members from across the Fens, including those who are struggling mentally during this coronavirus time.

We can be contacted by individuals who would like help from our group via the Facebook page Fenland Chronic Illness Support Group or email. 

Wood Green, The Animals Charity

Wood Green Animal Charity wants to assure you that we are available to support pet owners in times of hardship during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Our pet support team are still on hand seven days a week and can support you with general enquiries or arrange a free behavioural advice consultation over the telephone with qualified staff. Other ways we can help pet owners experiencing financial difficulties may include:

Pet Food Assistance: Available for cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and small animals. To ensure the safety of everyone involved, and to comply with social distancing recommendations, the food will be left outside of the home for the owner to collect so that they do not need to come into contact with the delivery driver.

Financial Support towards veterinary costs, including routine preventative care, for example flea, worming etc (conditions apply).

Please contact Wood Green Pet Support email or Tel: 0300 303 9333.

Our aim is to keep pets in loving homes and to help support you in anyway possible.

Support Cambridgeshire

Support Cambridgeshire offers free information linking in with partner organisations with Support Cambridgeshire regular news along with the Support Cambridgeshire COVID-19 pages which hold resources and information for community groups, Parish and Town Councils. There is also a countywide Support Cambridgeshire funding portal which all organisations can access to find funding pots that can support their activity. Check out the Support Cambridgeshire website and follow us on Twitter.

Rowan

Rowan is a Cambridge based charity and arts centre for people with learning disabilities. We provide a safe, creative and welcoming environment where we use the arts as a tool to bring people together, break down issues of social exclusion and improve health and wellbeing.

How Rowan is still making a difference

We have had to find new ways of continuing to deliver much needed support to our students, their families/carers, and our volunteers/support workers as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. With Tier Four now in place across Cambridgeshire we have had to close our doors once again to the arts centre. As hard as it is to do this everyone’s safety must come first.

We are continuing to run online sessions with our team who remain focused on ensuring we continue to provide the much-needed support and care to our students, their families and the wider community. 

So we have been:

  • Creating new activities pages on our website as well as ways to stay connected and get involved;

  • Providing creative drama and Makaton sessions online via Zoom;

  • One-on-one and small group music sessions online via Zoom;

  • Tuesday art sessions via Zoom;

  • Staying in regular contact with our students, their families and volunteers via phone and online;

  • Producing a 'Feel Good Friday' update, sharing stories/ideas and increasing happiness and wellbeing within our community;

  • We are also looking at how we can stay connected with students who have limited or no communication skills and do not have access to a phone or IT.

We are delighted with how positively these new ways of working are being received. Students are engaging and participating, where possible, and putting forward ideas and suggestions for future activities to make sure we all 'stay connected'.

Visit our Rowan Humberstone website to find out more. You can also sign up for our newsletters or find us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram on @RowanCambridge.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service

The overarching message to any concerned residents is that Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service are providing a full and uncompromised emergency response at this time.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is following the Government guidance on restrictions to normal working practices. Many of our support teams are working from home, still able to provide the much needed foundation for resources, equipment, HR, some training, data supply, line management and welfare functions to our front line emergency responders.

The core function of providing the Fire and Rescue Services to our communities in Cambridgeshire has to this point been largely unaffected due to effective distancing measures being employed and therefore keeping sickness at a manageable level within our Emergency call handler teams, Frontline Firefighters and officers who continue to respond to all our incoming emergencies in a full capacity.

Other functions that CFRS have been able to fulfil include providing secondment for several of our blue light vehicle trained drivers into the East of England Ambulance service to support the response of our ambulance colleagues by driving ambulances. Volunteers from many of our support and operational teams are adding their value to the various community hubs, this has been heartening to see too.

Our Fire prevention teams are working in a revised function. CFRS are able to support the needs of our most vulnerable residents with fire prevention initiatives, however normal activities that would require us to visit and enter people's homes are currently suspended, along with temporary suspension of of face to face educational activities.

There is a constant update to our online information in a number of places:

Age UK Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak we have adapted our services to provide high level support for older people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough:

Information and Advice, Tel: 0300 666 9860 or Information and advice Age UK email.

  • Helpline open seven days a week, weekday hours 9:00am to 5:00pm and we are responding to messages from 10:00am to 2:00pm at weekends and bank holidays. Furthermore, calls will be answered until 8:00pm by the National Helpline seven days per week;

  • Community Support Resource Information document produced and updated regularly giving details of local support available. This can be accessed on our website or via our Facebook pages.

COVID-19 Support Service,

  • Tel: 0300 666 9860 or email the Shopping at Age UK email.

  • Priority for service users who are particularly alone due to family living away, no next of kin, particularly unwell;

  • Shopping completed online or doorstep deliveries facilitated by Morrisons. Payments can be taken in a variety of ways all aimed at protecting older people and our staff;

  • Free food parcels in exceptional circumstances;

  • Regular keep in touch calls offered;

  • Prescription delivery.

Hospital Discharge Support Service and Admission Avoidance

  • Tel: 01354 691896.

  • Installation of measures to enable discharge such as key safes, grab rails and moving beds and furniture;

  • Essential groceries delivery on discharge;

  • Regular patient support for up to three weeks post discharge;

  • Further shopping and prescription delivery.

Cambridgeshire Handyperson Service, Tel: 01480 700205.

  • Priority to support Hospital Discharges and help to avoid hospital admissions. This includes bed moves, fitting grab rails and key safes;

  • Critical grab rail installation;

  • Where possible, telephone assessments taking place and triaged.

Deafblind UK

Deafblind UK offers help and support to people affected by sight and hearing loss. The services we currently have available include:

  • Helpline: Our helpline is here to offer help, advice or just a friendly chat. We are available from 8:00am to 8:00pm, seven days a week;

  • Wellbeing Service: Our wellbeing service can help you through particularly difficult times;

  • Telephone befriending: If you are feeling lonely, one of our volunteer befrienders can call or email your regularly for a chat;

  • Digital Support: Our digital support service helps you to make the most of your tablet or mobile phone in the way that best suits your level of sensory loss;

  • Care and Support Service: Our home support service can give you the support you need to live independently at home.

You can contact us as follows:

Dementia UK

Dementia UK's Admiral Nurse Dementia helpline is available to anyone with any questions or concerns around dementia during this challenging time. It can be contacted on Tel: 0800 888 6678 or by emailing Dementia UK email

Our online coronavirus hub contains a number of resources for families, in addition to a question and answer which reflects the main types of questions we are getting to our helpline.

Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire Mind (CPSL Mind)

Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire Mind (CPSL Mind) is a values-based, county-wide mental health charity.

We promote positive wellbeing across our communities and we campaign against the stigma and discrimination faced by so many people experiencing mental health challenges.

A short overview of our services and a link to our response page: 

Cambridgeshire Hearing Help

During the coronavirus pandemic Cambridgeshire Hearing Help is providing hearing aid batteries for NHS hearing aids and signposting for hearing aids that have stopped working.

Owing to the temporary closure of our Hearing Help Sessions around Cambridgeshire for the duration of the crisis, we are operating a telephone and postal service. Please contact Tel: 01223 416141 or email Cambridgeshire Hearing Help for help. Go to our Cambridgeshire Hearing Help website for further details.

If you have a hearing aid which has stopped working or needs re-tubing you will need to contact your original supplier, Addenbrookes or Hinchingbrooke Hospital or Specsavers, who will tell you how to get it serviced.

All In Sound

Registered Charity All In Sound is welcoming people to their online singing and music-making group - Sing! Together - for people living with dementia and their carers. Sing! Together used to meet in Ely each week but has been meeting online since March in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Weekly sessions are happening, and provide vital connections and communications for people at this difficult time. No previous experience is needed and All In Sound can offer technology and help to get you started if needed, so you can join the group, making sure it all works. Guaranteed to bring smiles and laughter, as well as singing lots of songs too!

Email Kathryn at All In Sound or speak to Kathryn, Tel: 01353 662022 to find out more.

Cambridgeshire Deaf Association

The services we provide for deaf people are:

  • Care and support to help people remain independent;

  • Befriending service;

  • Support to order or collect food or medication;

  • Independent Professional Advocacy service (Including IMCA, Care Act, CYP and generic);

  • Casework support (letters, bills, correspondence or accessing services);

  • Domestic Abuse support;

  • Community Events (now online);

  • Online information videos;

  • Sports and recreation.

Contact us on:

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

We strive to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, our staff and members, to support and empower them to lead a fulfilling life. Here at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) we are dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion. We deliver many of the NHS services that are provided outside of hospital and in the community, such as physical, mental health and specialist services. We provide integrated physical and mental health services for adults and older people, specialist mental health and learning disability services, child and young people's mental health services, children's community services (Peterborough), social care, and ground-breaking research.

We also provide a self-referral service for people needing mental health support.

All information about what is provided locally for people's mental health and wellbeing can be found on the Keep Your Head website.

The Lighthouse Centre

Food Parcels

Home-Start Cambridgeshire

Home-Start Cambridgeshire offers practical and emotional support to families from all backgrounds with at least one child under five. We recognise that being a parent has never been easy. It can be lonely, frustrating, heart breaking and overwhelming. Life changing events can happen to anyone, all parents struggle at one time or another and we can be there to help families through the toughest of times.  We support families in local communities who are experiencing a range of challenges including, poor mental / physical health, postnatal depression, bereavement, financial worries, isolation. We work with families to build on their strengths and give them the support they tell us they need.

Home-Start Cambridgeshire provides support to families via our trained home visiting volunteers. Volunteers are matched with families and then usually visit once a week for two hours. At the present time our volunteer support is via telephone calls or online meetings. As and when it is safe to resume home visiting, abiding by government guidelines, our previous levels of service will resume. Volunteers offer no judgement, just compassionate, confidential help and support. We are parents supporting other parents to be the best they can be, to give children the best start in life possible.

If you would like to know more about the work of Home-Start Cambridgeshire then please contact us on 01480 700242, visit our website at Home Start Cambridgeshire website or email Home Start Cambridgeshire.

Cambridgeshire Libraries

Need help accessing our online services?

Are e-Magazines passed you by?
Unable to listen to our e-audio books?
What to chat on Zoom but do not know how?
We can help!

Just come to the library desk or send an email to Ely referral email to book a slot with our friendly staff.

Citizens Advice West Suffolk

The Citizens Advice West Suffolk helps thousands of people every year by giving free independent, confidential and impartial advice and support across a wide range of issues including debt, housing, benefits, employer, family, consumer and legal. Call us on 0300 330 1151  9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday or use the Citizens Advice West Suffolk Contact us form we will get back to you.

See also: