The Suffolk Resilience Forum held a workshop last week on the Ready2Help scheme. Ready 2 Help is a platform that will connect volunteers and charities by giving the local community and residents the opportunity to request support during emergencies. The workshop was facilitated by Professor Duncan Shaw and Kelly S. from the National Consortium of Societal Resilience (NCSR), hosted by the University of Manchester.
We were joined by partners from the Suffolk Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership, the Community Resilience Working Group, Category 2 agencies, Community Action Suffolk, and Local Resilience Forums across Norfolk, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, and Essex. The workshop was structured around syndicate tables and groups to examine the various stages of the Ready2Help scheme.
Through group discussions, we explored how Ready2Help could integrate with Suffolk’s existing emergency processes and how it could work within the county and with the partner agencies. It also gave individuals the opportunity to network with individuals across borders and expand our volunteer networks.
Some of the potential benefits of the scheme that came out of discussions were faster mobilisation of volunteers during incidents, stronger coordination across organisations, and better visibility of community skills and resources. This could also create more opportunities for Suffolk voluntary and community groups to get involved in resilience activity and support their local communities.
A huge thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the discussions. If you have any queries about the Ready2Help scheme or would like more information, please get in touch with us.
