HOUSING provider LiveWest has recognised a service in Tavistock helping people during the recent challenging times with a Community Stars Award.

Tavistock Locals Help and the Trust that grew out of it, was a group winner in the latest awards which are given out quarterly to recognise extraordinary acts of kindness since the pandemic.

Live West particularly valued TLH as it helped direct people who became more vulnerable during the pandemic to further support services.

Tavistock Locals Help Trust secretary, Sarah Cooper, said: ‘The whole community pulled together. There were volunteers of every age; people on furlough or working from home, the retired, and front-line workers shoehorning in support during their time off. TLH brought neighbours together and strong friendships were forged between volunteers and the people they helped, many of whom were experiencing extreme anxiety and loneliness. The system was very efficient and worked really well due to the superb leadership of Ursula Mann. But the whole team worked very hard – the coordinators and switch board volunteers were on the phones every day, seven days a week and the volunteers on the ground stepped up to the mark whatever the time or weather, without complaint and were always cheerful.’

Last Christmas, when everything shut down again, Tavistock Locals Help worked with Tavistock Rotary Club to put together a Christmas package for elderly and vulnerable people.

A small group of volunteers from TLH the set up the Tavistock Locals Help Trust, a charitable trust which offers grants of up to £500 to help local people manage unexpected financial crises due to the pandemic.

Community Connector for LiveWest, Alison Knight, said: ‘We relied on this service for some of our residents, so it was helpful for us to be able to reassure people. It is great to be able to support this amazing project as what they provide has benefited our residents when they’re in need.’