After more than a year of delivering emergency support to residents across B&NES during the Covid-19 pandemic, third sector organisation 3SG is stepping down from providing volunteer support for the Community Wellbeing Hub.

Since the start of the first national lockdown, 3SG and its two thousand volunteers have provided a shopping and medication service for vulnerable residents,

completing more than five thousand tasks and delivering shopping worth more than £100,000.

With restrictions now easing and referrals from the Community Wellbeing Hub significantly reducing, the service is being wound up to enable 3SG to focus on its core mission of supporting a network of two hundred charities and social enterprises across the area.

Kate Morton, Chair of 3SG, said: “Whilst it was a difficult decision to step down the service 3SG has offered, it was only intended to be temporary. We feel very confident that there are many other options for people going forward and the time is now right for us to step back. I’d like to thank all the team for their hard work over the last seventeen months. The Hub will continue to offer support to people in need across B&NES and we are working closely with all partners to ensure that everyone who has received help in the past can find a suitable solution going forward.”

The Community Wellbeing Hub, which is a unique partnership of public, private and voluntary sector organisations, will continue to offer support to residents by signposting people to other services, such as NHS Volunteer Responders. It will also continue to provide direct food support through emergency food supplies, advice on weight management and healthy eating, ‘Cook It’ classes, and referrals to foodbanks and other organisations.

Councillor Alison Born, cabinet member for Adult Services added: “I am

extremely proud of the support that our community has shown by stepping forward during a national emergency to help others. We are hugely grateful to the 3SG team and their volunteers for all the work they have done.

“I look forward to continuing to work with Virgin Care, its partners and local community organisations to build on the success of the Hub.”