Coronavirus: Seaside town adopts ‘Blitz spirit’ with launch of telephone befriending service

‘I would like to think that at the end of this, society might shift a little bit and maybe it will get back to knowing your neighbours,’ says local councillor

With the number of people self-isolating increasing as the coronavirus outbreak in the UK continues to grow, one group of volunteers in a seaside town have launched a telephone befriending service to shore up community spirit.

The initiative is being led by Helen Burton, a local councillor in Eastbourne, East Sussex, and has seen hundreds of people sign up to have friendly chats with anyone cooped up in their homes.

She affectionately referred to the willingness of volunteers as the “Blitz spirit”.

Ms Burton, 48, told the PA news agency: “We are just trying to provide some positivity in a time that is going to be terrible for a lot of people.

“People want to do something to help others, which is fantastic. At the moment, it’s absolutely crisis time and it’s just a case of getting anyone who is isolated someone on the phone.”

Read more

There has been mounting concern about people in self-isolation, particularly elderly people who are vulnerable to loneliness, as the UK government urged the public to practice social distancing to curb the spread of disease.

Ms Burton screens volunteers and matches them with people in the community in the hope anyone who may feel lonely during self-isolation will hear from the Eastbourne volunteers at least once a week.

She said the number of people who have contacted her offering help has been “heartwarming”.

“It’s the Blitz spirit that people have been talking about. I think we are good in a crisis,” she added.

“I would like to think that at the end of this, society might shift a little bit and maybe it will get back to knowing your neighbours.”

In the UK, nearly 2,000 people have been infected with coronavirus and Boris Johnson has implemented more stringent measures to ensure people stay at home more to control the spread.

The group are still looking for more people to get involved in the telephone befriending service, and encourage anyone interested to email eastbournevolunteers@gmail.com.

Additional reporting by Press Association