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A group of 30 veterans and their friends have offered their time to assist the most vulnerable islanders by collecting and delivering food and medicine, as well as topping up electric keys.
The Jersey Joint Services Veterans Association (JJSVA) Volunteer Group has also created a dedicated hotline which islanders can ring if they need help throughout the covid-19 outbreak.
The association – whose motto for these unprecedented times is, “together we are strong” - was created five years ago by former servicemen and women from the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Airforce.
While it was initially formed to support any veterans and their families in Jersey that require assistance or access to agencies such as health and housing and to the established military charities such as the Royal British Legion, it is now taking its mission statement one step further.
Last week, the Association’s committee contacted members to inform them they had unanimously decided to form a volunteer group “to support the most vulnerable in Jersey who may not have access to support at this present time for varying reasons”.
Over 30 people offered their help and the Volunteer Group was officially formed on Monday. “Given the current situation, we wanted to provide extra help to the local community at large,” the Association Chairman, Dene Cassin, said.
“At the moment there is minimal demand for our services. There is no call for us but we are active and in place. We believe as weeks progress, there could be a demand as resources will be getting stretched. We will be looking to help elderly people as well as vulnerable people of all ages, anyone in the vulnerable group.”
Pictured: Elderly and vulnerable islanders are invited to call the hotline.
Mr Cassin said the team will be able to take food to islanders if their relatives or carers can no longer do so. They will also be on hand to collect and deliver medicines as well as topping electric keys, as a post on the Association’s Facebook page explained.
Anyone wishing to get help can ring the helpline (07700 353773), which is being manned by committee members. However, the team said they will not be answering any medical queries and encouraged people to phone the government's corona virus helpline for these.
“We are specifically targeting those in most need whom are vulnerable, for example there may be an elderly person who gets items delivered to them once a week by a sole relative or friend however that relative or friend cannot deliver it for whatever reason, we will step in and do that for them if they call our helpline”, they explained.
The group also has some “back-up” volunteers in case anyone needs to self-isolate in the coming weeks. With an estimated 3,000 veterans and their family members in the island, the group said they should be able to source even more volunteers if necessary.
Mr Cassin said everyone jumped into action as soon as they heard about the initiative, saying they were happy “to give their support as they always do”.
“All of our volunteers when asked to step forward to assist, in good military style they did so without hesitation as many during their service have worked in some very arduous and unpleasant conditions however always in a professional manner, and it is in times like this their experience is invaluable and it is always done with a can do attitude and smile,” he added.
While the group is now fully operational and waiting for duty to call, Mr Cassin said the “best-case scenario” would be for their help to not be required.
But he added: “If we are needed, we are here."
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