Case studies

At the start of the pandemic the council set up a homelessness cell - which led to many rough sleepers being encouraged off the streets and into accommodation.

The Lawnmowers is a Gateshead based theatre group formed in 1986 to offer its work in the community. The organisation is run by and for people with learning disabilities.

Since September 2020, Bradford’s Race Equality Network (REN) has been delivering the COVID-19 Prevention Project for BAME and Central Eastern European (CEE) communities, funded by Bradford Council’s Public Health department.

The Travel with Confidence programme consists of training, funding and an assurance mark which signifies that a taxi or private hire driver has gained a safety accreditation aimed to keep customers and workers safe from coronavirus.

The Buy in Bradford food voucher scheme was launched in response to the growing numbers of people in food poverty in the city.

Launched in December 2020 and funded by Power to Change and the Lottery Fund, the COVID Lead Leadership Programme was established to help challenge the misconceptions and myths of COVID-19 and the vaccine within Black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.  

This project aims to help families understand the importance of good mental health and offers support where there are concerns or challenges with the parent-infant relationship as a result of for example, a traumatic birth, loss or bereavement, low mood or anxiety.

Hertfordshire’s ‘Thrive and Survive’ work began before the pandemic and was in response to an increase in suicides among university students.

Councils up and down the country have been training increasing numbers of colleagues to have healthy conversations, whether it’s about excess smoking or drinking but also, particularly about mental health.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) which is part of Gloucestershire County Council, set up two fire stations as vaccination centres with crews responsible for setting up the clinics each morning, helping to vaccinate nearly 2,500 people a day.