AN ONLINE call centre serving the Yoker, Garscadden and Scotstounhill communities will be launched this week to help people access vital information during the coronavirus crisis.

Set up by councillors Eva Murray and Michael Cullen the community hub is expected to go live this Wednesday to help members of the community access debt and money advice, mental health services as well as food packages.

So far 85 people have volunteered to take part in the project, which will be based at the Yoker Resource Centre, while adhering to the social distancing rules.

There will be no more than five or seven volunteers on at a time who will signpost people to the relevant services if they can’t help.

Councillor Michael Cullen said: “We are setting up an online call centre for people living in the G13/14 area of the ward.

“My ward colleague councillor Eva Murray approached me with the idea and we put a call out for volunteers to get involved.

“We weren’t sure when the schools would close or when the country would go into lockdown and it all happened a lot quicker than we were expecting.

“So far we have 85 volunteers and two councillors. There will be a phone number and an email address for constituents to get in touch with problems.

“They may have a problem about debt or money concerns where we would then make an appointment with Drumchapel’s Citizen’s Advice for a call back.

“We have a high population of elderly people in our community who are being told to stay indoors for 12 weeks. Through this service we may be able to identify someone who lives nearby who check in on a vulnerable person by phone and establish some contact.”

Because of lockdown the Yoker Resource Centre will not be open to the public and has been deep cleaned so volunteers can still operate from it. Hand sanitiser will also be provided.

Councillor Eva Murray added: “We saw the brilliant work being done by various organisations across the ward but realised, for it to work at it’s best there needed to be coordination.

“That’s when the idea for the G13/G14 Hub came about. We have almost 100 volunteers ready to help their neighbours, answer phone calls and deliver essentials to those who may need it. We will deliver meals/groceries, call older people in the area for a catch up and provide money/debt advice or mental health support.

“The key to setting this up has been communication, linking in with different community centres and groups to see what they can offer in this time of crisis, sharing resources and knowledge and attempting as much as possible to fill any support gaps that we may find. I’ve never been more proud of the communities I represent, the way they have responded to this crisis has been phenomenal and I just want to say a huge thank you to them.”

To get in touch with the hub visit yokercommunityaid@gmail.com or phone 0141 952 6485.