CHAIN is short for Community Help and Information Network, and has been created by Better Care Together and Millom Health Action Group who are both partners of the Millom Alliance.
It is a cost free service that coordinates volunteers to help other residents with anything from mowing a lawn to doing their shopping.
The overall aim of CHAIN is to help individuals stay in their own homes for longer, improve their health and wellbeing and reduce social isolation.
Jenny Brumby, from Millom Health Action Group who spent the carnival day signing people up, said: “We are so lucky to have so many selfless volunteers across our 13 communities around Black Combe. We have created CHAIN to support the existing volunteers and encourage people of all ages to become one. Once we have a bank of people we will match volunteers with the people who have come forward to say that they would benefit from extra support. “We want to organise the help so that it’s all in one place and most importantly keep it free of charge for the community.”
Following on from the carnival parade, hundreds of people visited stalls based at Millom Rugby Club which included a CHAIN stall. CHAIN ambassadors from the community and Better Care Together engaged with over 200 people by handing out wristbands and flyers containing key information about CHAIN. Additionally, on the day individuals who would benefit from extra support along with potential volunteers were encouraged to sign up to become part of this exciting project.
Sheila Watson who lives in Millom said: “I signed up to CHAIN to volunteer to help others because one day I might need help and it would be nice to know that there would be someone to help me. It’s great to be a part of a giving community where people do help each other.”
Following on from the Carnival day, CHAIN ambassadors including the individuals responsible for producing and delivering the town’s ‘Around the Combe’ magazine, will continue to promote the initiative by sharing information and signing up local people who would benefit from extra support and putting them in touch with people who have volunteered to help. Jenny Brumby added: “The self-worth you feel from helping others is very fulfilling and we want to create that chain of selflessness.”
The CHAIN initiative is available at no cost to everyone living from Waberthwaite to Broughton in the ‘Around the Combe’ communities.