What’s Happening With PAVS During Social Isolation

As one of the recognised, independent, membership organisations that form a network around Wales, PAVS was established to support and develop voluntary action in Pembrokeshire. PAVS also provides an interface, or working relationship, between voluntary and statutory organisations.

Some core funding is provided by the Welsh Government, administered by Wales Council for Voluntary Action, and a further amount is awarded by Pembrokeshire County Council.

As a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, PAVS has a Board of Trustees, elected by the membership, that governs its work.

LEE HIND kindly sent the following information about what PAVS is currently doing in this time of pandemic:

On 17 March, PAVS followed UK government advice and enabled all staff to work from home. Since then, readers will be aware of the proliferation of community support networks that have popped up on social media and throughout the whole of Pembrokeshire. Each of those networks need to be supported with information, resources and assistance to function in the most appropriate way – it has kept PAVS very busy.

Volunteering Pembrokeshire

• Our volunteering team has been busy supporting groups and individuals who wish to volunteer or provide a service. We have created a mechanism to talk to the admins and leaders of the community support networks and have put them in touch both with each other (to share good practice and ideas) and with colleagues such as GPs who can assist them.
• Our volunteering colleagues have also been liaising with WCVA and other national groups to provide coherent advice on issues such as health and safety and safeguarding.

Community Participation and Policy Engagement

• Our policy engagement team has been supporting Pembrokeshire County Council to operate the Community Hub – www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19-community-information/community-hub. This central point of access allows effective signposting to the myriad existing and new services that have developed in recent weeks.
• Community connectors meanwhile have also been supporting the Community Hub as well as continuing to take referrals for individualised support and, assisting with enquiries made through PAVS.
• Our Time Banking project has been working to fast-track an online platform that will allow both offers of assistance and requests for help, allowing community members to meet their own local needs.

Third Sector Support

• Our team has been very busy supporting a range of voluntary, community and charitable groups with their queries. Issues such as GDPR, safeguarding, furloughing staff, safety of volunteers and interpretation of the seemingly endless stream of national guidelines have all featured heavily – this in addition to the core work of keeping groups up to date with developments that might affect them.
• The team has also been active in identifying and lobbying for those groups who need immediate financial assistance during the current challenge. We are hopeful that specific guidance from the UK government will be forthcoming in the not too distant future.
• In addition, the team has been working with successful applicants from previous rounds of funding via South Hook LNG and Bluestone Community Foundation who need assistance to alter their projects or extend the timescales.

Business Support and the Chief Officer

• Our Business Support Team has been kept busy trying to manage new systems and administrate the new challenge of home working – while ensuring that our obligations in terms of monitoring our activity and staff wellbeing are met.
• PAVS’ Chief Officer has been extremely busy trying to tie all this local activity into what is happening regionally and nationally; all this on top of learning new skills… particularly in the field of social media.

Enquiries to PAVS are still welcomed and encouraged through most of the usual channels – email: enquiries@pavs.org.uk; phone: 01437 769422 – the office remains closed. Please check our website (www.pavs.org.uk) for updates.

You can also find PAVS staff on Facebook – we’re all on there with PAVS as part of our names. For example, Lee Hind is Lee Pavs.