Wigan Covid-19 response team is going the extra mile

The Covid-19 response team discovered there was a surprising health benefit to their role, which involves walking the streets of the borough to help inform residents on the latest Government guidance.

The team offer advice and reassurance on concerns such as social distancing and how public spaces should be used safely to help make sure that everyone is staying safe when out in their community.

They’ve even started a competition between themselves to see who is getting the most steps in, with some team members achieving up to 26,000 steps in an afternoon.

The new team, made up of staff from targeted youth support services, who usually work with young people and staff from the community resilience team, who usually help address anti-social behaviour, recently began measuring how far they were walking during their sessions and were surprised to find how many miles they were covering.

Deputy practice manager, Vic Finnigan-Lord, who co-ordinates the team, said: “The team go out to walk the borough in pairs, one person from targeted youth support services and one from the community resilience team, to make sure they always have the combined knowledge and experience of working with children, young people and adults.

“They are tasked with engaging community members, actively listening to any concerns they might have and sharing knowledge on the latest guidance.

“The job can sometimes be challenging, as we work day and night supporting people, so we introduced measuring steps as a way of helping to keep people motivated, a friendly competition with small monthly prizes for the team who have walked the furthest.

“We couldn’t believe how many miles they were covering in one week.”

Karen Campbell together with colleague Chris Coham, are the latest prize winners, walking an amazing 26,378 steps during a recent 5-hour session.

Karen said: “It’s been really rewarding going out and about and engaging with people in the community from a safe distance. The walking part is an added benefit as although it’s not the aim of our work, it does help us to stay healthy.”

Karen usually spends her evenings running youth groups and supporting young people as part of the targeted youth support services team.

She added: “We’re running some of our youth groups online, but I have missed seeing them in person. As part of the COVID 19 response team, we can help young people to meet a friend safely whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines, which has been fantastic to see.

“Standing in a triangle eating chips or sitting in a wide circle outdoors and having a chat is the new normal for now!”

The Covid-19 response team will continue to walk the borough and reassure the public over the summer months.