Volunteer Community Resilience Wardens - Gateshead Council

Communities can find themselves at risk from bad weather, a loss of utilities or even by a digger unearthing a World War 2 bomb amongst other things!  Thankfully these incidents are rare, but communities face dangers from a wide range of sources, sometimes with very little notice.

We’re looking to strengthen the response arrangements that the Council and the emergency services already have in place.  In your community, you’re the expert.  There is already a small network of Volunteer Community Resilience Wardens, who’ve received training and equipment to allow them to work in support of the Council and the emergency services during an incident. 

There may be people in your community who are more vulnerable than others due to the impacts of an incident, such as elderly or disabled residents or those vulnerable in the short term due to pregnancy or ill health. You could help us keep them safe.  You might know about that path that always floods, the man who’s ill at number 28 or the lady who struggles to manage the stairs at number 49. 

We want to set up a network of volunteers who we can work with before, during and after an emergency.  This will make it easier to get information to and from you, to get help to vulnerable residents more quickly and to learn from your experience.  You know the area where you live and work better than anyone.  We can look at maps and check records but sometimes only local knowledge will fill in the gaps for us., ,

If you want to offer your services but this role isn’t for you, there are other ways to get involved in community resilience.  For example, you could clear a neighbour’s path of snow or walk a neighbour’s dogs when they can’t get out themselves.  We’d like to hear from you if you’re interested, as we’d like to try and create a community plan for your area.