As a link worker at Voluntary Action Leeds (VAL) during the Covid-19 response, I have been in the fortunate position over the last 6 months or so to have worked with many of the 28 local hubs in Leeds, consisting of voluntary sector organisations who have led on the social care referrals across all wards of the city.

It is also a great privilege to be in a position where you can see the big picture, on a daily basis, meeting and speaking with the dedicated people who are doing amazing work. For many, their noses are so close to the grindstone that (i) they don’t realise what a wonderful job they are doing themselves and (ii) they don’t have the luxury to step back and observe in depth what others have been doing.

It’s good to be able to hold a mirror up to everyone working and volunteering within the Covid-19 response, to reflect the interconnected networks that have organically developed in such a short space of time. The voluntary sector in Leeds mobilised and organised in such a short space of time and these networks continue to grow and expand to the point where there will be many lasting partnerships (and even more friendships), far beyond Covid-19,

If you tried to draw a map of all the interconnected working that goes on, you would soon get your lines very tangled up indeed. If I began to start to name some of the organisations, groups and individuals involved it would be very unfair, as it is impossible to name everyone. But I have experienced a complex network of voluntary public and private sector groups, working together to help meet people’s basic needs, and I have also met many of the individuals and non-constituted groups that have been crucial cogs in the response.

I wouldn’t often rave about what interesting reading a Leeds City Council Scrutiny Report makes! But for an overview of the city’s volunteer response and with specific reference to the ward case studies that VAL compiled in Appendix 4, here is a link to a report published back in July: https://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/documents/s207938/Volunteering%20Response%20Leeds.pdf

So this is just as a taster, a slither, a glimpse of the wonderful work that has been and still is going on. Last week I visited Rainbow Junktion and met café manager Emily, and here is a short 3-minute film of my visit – enjoy!

VAL