Our Covid-19 Recovery Plan

Click the button to download and read our recovery plan 

Support Services

Due to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines we are not making home visits and our Children’s Centres are not running the usual programme of services as outlined on the site. But don’t worry we are still here for you!

We are keeping a close eye on how we can keep you and our staff safe and supported. Our team are making contact with as many of our families as possible providing support to our families via telephone, emails, video chat, etc.

Plumstead and Brookhill Children’s Centres and Plumstead Nursery have remained open for essential worker and identified families childcare and we are providing emergency support and food provision service from Brookhill to referred families.

In addition, the Royal Borough of Greenwich Community hub have 1000+ volunteers supporting in the community. They are collecting & delivering prescriptions, delivering essential food packages and connecting residents to local community services.

You can request support online or call the helpline number:
0800 470 4831 or email covid19support@royalgreenwich.gov.uk

For up to date information about benefits and hardship support please visit the webpage below:

 https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200329/coronavirus/2208/benefits_and_hardship_support

Covid-19 Emergency Food Provision

Home-Start Greenwich has been working in partnership with organisations such as Feeding Britain and FareShare to provide emergency food provision to vulnerable families during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The current crisis has already affected thousands of children, leaving many of them at great risk of hunger and malnutrition due to factors such as:

• Their parents/carers being financially affected
• Nil recourse to funds/low-income families not being able to purchase sufficient amounts of food or access food banks due to closures.
• No longer having access to free school meals

Funding from Feeding Britain and a partnership with local caterers (First Choice Caribbean Hut Lunches), has enabled us to provide cooked meals to some of the most vulnerable families in their local community. Carib-hub has put together a varied menu, with nutritionally balanced cooked meals, which come with basic heating instructions. Since the 31st March we have been distributing 60 meals a day twice a week (120 meals every week) via Brookhill Children’s

Centre in Woolwich, whilst co-ordinating a team of volunteers to deliver to families self-isolating or unable to collect safely.

Background and context

L is a single parent, living in a house in SE18, she has 3 younger children ages 3, 5 and 12 years and 3 grown up children.

Her youngest child is 3 years old with Downs Syndrome, respiratory problems and is oxygen dependant – a nurse normally helps with his care.

Mum suffers with her own mental health and has severe asthma and COPD.

As a result of their health needs, they are vulnerable and have to self-isolate for a 12-week period. Mums 3 older children are adults and all work in keyworker roles. They have had to temporarily move out of the family home as there is too much risk that they will bring infection into the house (her 3 year old is susceptible to catching any kind of infection normally without the threat of COVID19). The grown children are not living that close by so are unable to help with food shopping.

This has all impacted on mums mental health as she would normally have them around to help her practically and she misses the adult interaction and having someone to talk to.

We received the Referral on 1st April from one of our partners who runs a Downs Syndrome Support group at one of our Children’s Centres, requesting some support for L as she was struggling to get to the shops for food. Mum was contacted, on the same day of the referral, to offer her a cooked meal from our emergency food provision. Cooked meals for all of her children were provided and a bag of fresh produce and groceries were delivered to her.

Between 1st April and 1st May, the family have received cooked meals and a bag of groceries on 8 occasions. The frequency has been at least once sometimes twice a week over the 4-week period, this support will continue as long as we are able to continue to fund the emergency food provision from external funding

Pass the time project

With our Community Partners we are running a FREE recycled toy, book, jigsaw and game distribution service – if you would like to receive an item please download and complete the form attached and email to projects@homestartgreenwich.org.uk.

Items can either be safely collected from one of our Children Centres or delivered directly to you home.

Visit https://vcgreenwich.org.uk/pass-the-time-project for further details or to organise a collection of any goods if you want to donate.

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