Warrington Disability Partnership (WDP)
WDP has a team of 11 Community Champions - Ebony, Derek, Dave, Leigh, Ellen, Tom, Laura, Kate, Nick, Esstta and Lyndsey - all of whom have lived experience of disabilities and/or long-term health conditions, ranging from physical, invisible, learning, neurodiverse and sensory disabilities.
The team can provide information, advice and guidance to communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in an appropriate and accessible way. They are available to provide support and answers to any questions or concerns you may have regarding the vaccination programme, testing and the government's roadmap.
Several members of the team have experience of having COVID-19, several others have experienced shielding during the pandemic, and all members of the team have received both doses of the vaccine, and can speak about their experiences.
As a team, they are aware that many people’s confidence and independence has been reduced and impacted due to the pandemic, so they are able to provide advice and support to help you build back confidence and independence, offering bespoke information, advice and guidance to enable everyone to find a comfortable path back to normality.
As the project develops the champions will be using feedback and comments received directly from communities to inform their outreach and resources to ensure they are relevant to your needs.
Warrington Voluntary Action (WVA)
WVA has appointed two Community Champions – Atefeh and Shaylah – who are available to support people in Warrington. Their focus is on supporting people from Black, Asian, minority ethnic groups and the Eastern European Community.
They have started to work closely with the Polish Centre of Education and Culture who have designated Iwona and Sylwia as their Community Champions to support local Polish communities. They are also working closely with Warrington Ethnic Communities Association and Citizens Advice to extend their reach to the most at-risk communities.
WVA's champions will also play a key role in ensuring support is inclusive for people whose first language isn’t English. They will work to engage with members, networks and beneficiaries through existing channels, support local testing and vaccination sites, provide additional telephone and online engagement, and share relevant messages through social media.
During the coming months, Atefeh, Shaylah and WVA’s army of volunteer Champions will be out in the community sharing COVID-19 vaccine advice and information to boost local vaccination take-up and to providing any necessary guidance and support.
