Lewes community hub to coordinate support for vulnerable residents

Speaking during his daily Facebook Live broadcast on Friday (March 27), Lewes District Council’s deputy leader James MacCleary asked residents to be patient due to the high demand on the council’s contact centre.

Cllr MacCleary said: “They’ve seen the number of emails alone double from the normal number we would expect in a week and they are ploughing through them as fast as they can. 

“I would just say on their behalf; do keep contacting us, we are here for you, we are here to support you, but please be patient with us as well.

“We’ve got staff getting sick like everybody does, which means our capacity is down, and we are seeing a massive surge in demand.

“Please bear with us, [but] please do keep contacting us, we do want to hear from you. If you are in a difficult situation or you have concerns about things please do let us know.”

Cllr MacCleary also urged anyone with questions to check both the council’s and the Government’s website in the first instance as there is “a huge amount of information there”.

Residents should still contact the council if they could not find an answer, Cllr MacCleary said, but cautioned that it could take several days to get a response.

Cllr MacCleary also said a new helpline with details of the community hub – which is intended to coordinate support for vulnerable residents – is expected to begin operation on Monday (March 30).

Cllr MacCleary is giving updates on the council’s activities on Facebook Live at 10am each day: www.facebook.com/lewesdistrictcouncil

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: “Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role.”

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

In addition, please write to your MP urging the Government to provide some additional financial support for local newspapers and their websites like this one and ensuring that supermarkets continue to stock them. I cannot stress enough how important such an intervention would be.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.