At this challenging time, we know many older and vulnerable people across the district are in need of support. For those of you without family, friends and neighbours to turn to, we want to reassure you that we are here to HELP.

To respond to your needs, our dedicated volunteers will be working with us to offer the following support during the COVID-19 outbreak:

Phone befriending  – we can give you a regular call to offer a listening ear and a chat

Errand service for shopping and essential items – if you need help with getting in supplies, collecting a prescription etc. we will ask a trusted and vetted volunteer to get them for you.  We can also put you in touch with local suppliers who may be able to deliver to your door.

Please note: our regular Driving Force and  Help at Home gardening, decorating and odd job services are suspended temporarily to redirect our staff to helping out with errands. If our existing clients have an essential odd job that really can’t wait though, please contact us and we will try to assist.

How to contact us
Harrogate services:
01423 813090/813096

Ripon services:
01765 645902/645915

Please call between 9 am and 4 pm Monday to Friday and DO LEAVE A MESSAGE. We are working remotely for now but will pick your messages up and get back to you as soon as we can.

Other support available
For support in other areas of our district, please contact  your local Community Support Organisation (CSO):

These are limited, weekday services. People with more needs and urgent need should contact the North Yorkshire County Council Customer Service Centre on 01609 780780 Monday- Friday 8 am – 5.30 pm

If you require help with transport

The government is setting up an NHS responder service which will offer patient transport. For more details about this service, please contact either our Harrogate Community Support Organisation on 01423 813096 or the North Yorkshire County Council Customer Service Centre (see above)

Please remember to stay at home and to follow government guidance about good hygiene and staying at a safe distance. Please do call on us if you are older and/or living without a support network and we will do our very best to help.

Sign up as  ‘Here to HELP’ volunteer

We have been delighted to have such a fantastic response to our call for volunteers. If you’re over 18 years of age, healthy and not at high risk  (see NHS guidelines ) you can sign up at the links below to become a Here To Help Volunteer and help others in Ripon. This involves assisting with tasks such as urgent food shopping for the most vulnerable and providing back-up to local charities delivering vital services, as necessary.  Please apply here:

Become a Here to Help Volunteer in Ripon

At the moment, we have enough volunteers in and around Harrogate to help the numbers of people who are asking for support.  However as people return to work, this may change.

If you would like to leave your name and email address here, we will contact you if we need more volunteers over the coming months.

Register interest in being a Here To Help Volunteer in Harrogate

We will store your name and email address securely, we will only use it to contact you about volunteering for us and we will only keep it until 30th September 2020.

To help us deliver our front line services over the next few weeks, we are looking to our community to support us.

Read more about how you can play your part and find out where to turn for safe and trusted support on the HARCVS website.

Take care and stay safe. Remember, we’re here to HELP!