VOLUNTARY groups and charities are springing into action to support families and individuals in lockdown three as Wiltshire Community Foundation relaunches its Coronavirus Response Fund.

The community foundation has already raised more than £1.2 million and distributed more than £1 million through 220 grants. Now it is appealing for more donations as the groups it funds face the new challenge.

Charities providing counselling, youth mentoring, food distribution, shopping for the elderly and befriending are switching services online, reactivating volunteers and reforming partnerships to cope with the lockdown announced on Monday.

Community support group Trowbridge Future is working with Trowbridge Town Council to deliver shopping and collect prescriptions for isolated elderly people and those who are shielding.

The charity has had to close its drop-in hub in The Shires but manager Zoe Meaden said it will be working hard to reach out to people both young and old in need across the area.

She said: “We will continue with the community fridge at the Seymour Hub, although we may have to leave bags outside, we have a ladies group who meet in the hub and I hope to put some wellness packs together for them. It’s just important to stay in touch with people so they don’t feel forgotten.”

The group, which has received more than £17,000 from the community foundation’s coronavirus fund, will provide phone support for vulnerable and lonely people on its books, and will provide activity packs and run Zoom sessions for members of its youth groups who were missing school.

At The Vineyard Church in Trowbridge, one of the town's Storehouse foodbank trustees Sam Whiley said: “We were really busy over the Christmas period and we are anticipating that we will be open and doing what we can for people again. We are adjusting our workflow and we are expecting an increase in use again."

Help Counselling Services in Trowbridge which provides low cost or free counselling to hundreds of people across the county, expects the lockdown to trigger a new surge of inquiries.

Chief executive Amanda Wilkes said: “In the second lockdown we saw people feeling so much worse than the first one because of the cumulative effect of going back there again. “Over Christmas we saw 12 or 13 applications for counselling come in and that’s not normal, it is usually quiet. "We have seen a really big rise in people accessing our services over the last year and we have more counsellors than we’ve ever had."

“We are seeing families falling to pieces, people unable to cope with the stress and anxiety about family, money and a general lack of spontaneity in life. There’s a real lack of hope. My expectations are that we are going to see that rise.”

Abraham’s Kitchen, which is run by Westbury Town Council staff, will continue delivering monthly bags of food with recipe cards to low income families to encourage children to cook with their parents.

Organiser Julie Dyer said: “We are still delivering 50 bags and we hope that parents will see it as an activity they can do with their children now that they are not at school.”

The Youth Adventure Trust, which works with struggling young people across the county, had been looking forward to getting them back together on activity weeks at half-term.

Louise Balaam, the trust’s director of fundraising, said: “Our mentoring scheme will switch online and we are hoping our half-term activity days will go ahead. If they can’t, we’ll would expect to run something virtually for the young people do some additional days later in the year.

“We are just so keen to get these young people back outdoors again and we know this is something that just stops in lockdown. It has such a negative impact on their mental health and the situations they are dealing with.”

Fiona Oliver, chief executive of the 46-year-old Wiltshire Community Foundation, said they will continue to be there for small charities who need support and guidance.

“We have been constantly amazed and inspired by the resilience and determination of the grass roots groups we fund as they adapt their services to ensure they are there for those who need them.

“Our Coronavirus Response Fund has been a vital resource for them and we hope with the support of the public it will be again as we all rise to the challenges of this third lockdown.”To donate to the Wiltshire and Swindon Coronavirus Response Fund or to find out how to apply for a grant, go to wiltshirecf.org.uk.