Coronavirus (COVID-19) Our Response

To our YLF Family

We have been thinking about you all lately – our employees, volunteers, young people, partners,  supporters and our wider community.

Whilst we are striving to run our projects and services largely as normal, our priority is the health and wellbeing of all who are connected with YLF and to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19. We know many of our staff, volunteers and those we support will be feeling anxious at this time and concerned how COVID-19 may impact our work together.

To allay these concerns, we want to explain the steps we are taking to minimise disruption to our service delivery and ensure we can continue to provide support to the young and vulnerable people we work with:

• we are diligently following PHE, NHS, Government and Local Authority guidance and best practices
• all employees are resourced and fully equipped to work remotely and communicate with service users and one another
• volunteer roles will continue in line with Government advice, their activity will be monitored and face to face contact will be minimised
• contingency plans and risk assessments will be continuously shared between us and our Local Authority partners with regards to statutory services
• our service coordinators will be in direct contact with all volunteers and young people to ensure they know who and how they can remain in contact
• currently our headquarters at College Road remains open and measures are in place to carry out deep cleaning three times per week and hand sanitizer is available in all areas
• in line with Government advice, we have taken the decision that groups and gatherings be suspended for the time being, until such a time we can reconvene. Therefore:
  • all youth activity groups at our hubs or within the community are suspended but in place of these, other types of contact and communications will substitute where possible, for example regular phone or video meetings
  • in-house training sessions of new volunteers are suspended until further notice. However virtual training or telephone conferencing will be offered
  • the following Events will be postponed; Voice in A Million,  London Marathon, and Easter Campaign Collection Days, however there are other ways supporters can contribute to the Easter Campaign. Please see our Events page for further details on individual events or await confirmation of any cancellation
• the above measures will be continuously reviewed and communicated

While the environment around us is uncertain, we take comfort in the fact that we have a top-class team of dedicated employees and compassionate and loyal volunteers who stand ready to provide support. We hope that our alternative communications, website, and social media channels can be a source of support and inspiration for you – because sometimes we all need a break from the news! We will stay in touch!

Thank you for being a part of the YLF family