​The Southern HSC Trust bereavement helpline is now live. This has been developed by the bereavement team; a collaborative partnership across practitioners in bereavement, social work and nursing services brought together in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
They are so aware that grief is difficult under ‘normal’ circumstances, but the current context brings added challenges at the time of death, limitations to our rites of mourning and when social distancing restricts our capacity to be with family and friends.
 
They have a team of colleagues from social work, nursing and allied health professionals with knowledge, skills and insight into grief and loss responding to calls.  The helpline aims to come alongside bereaved people, to hold their grief and offer emotional support through compassion and empathy. We hope, in some small way, it will prove beneficial for some people at this time.

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The grant scheme is targeted at businesses with one to nine employees facing immediate cash flow difficulties due to Covid-19 – this includes eligible social enterprises.

Minister Dodds said:
"The Hardship Fund will provide much-needed support to micro-businesses which have so far been unable to access other regional and national coronavirus support measures.
“This new fund should mean that over 40,000 businesses in Northern Ireland will have been eligible to apply for support under the Northern Ireland Covid-19 grant schemes."
The funding is available to businesses unable to access the £10,000, £25,000 and Covid-19 Childcare Support grant schemes.
 
The eligibility checker, further information and some Frequently Asked Questions are available at@ nibusinessinfo Coronavirus: NI Micro-Business Hardship Fund page
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Currently, there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted by food or food packaging.
However, it is always important to follow good hygiene practices when handling or preparing foods. You should always wash your hands and surfaces often, separate raw meat from other foods, cook to the right temperature and put food in the fridge as soon as you can. 
Food shopping advice
·         Please don’t go shopping if you have COVID-19 symptoms. You can order your groceries online or have some family or friends drop them off instead.
·         When you go food shopping, you should wash your hands before you leave the house, avoid touching your face when you’re out and follow social distancing. 
·         When you come home, you should wash your hands straight away. Wash them again once you have unpacked and put away your shopping.
·         It is not necessary to sanitise the outside of food packaging. While there is some evidence that the virus can survive on hard surfaces, the risk from handling food packing is very low and there is no evidence that the illness can be transmitted in this way.
·         If you are sanitising surfaces or shopping bags, follow the manufacturer’s instructions about how much time is needed before wiping the sanitiser off.
·         Gloves can give a false sense of security. They would need to be changed very frequently to be effective. It’s better to wash your hands often and avoid touching your face.
 for Questions and Answers follow link
 
https://www.safefood.eu/Food-Safety/Groceries-and-COVID-19.aspx?gclid=CjwKCAjwte71BRBCEiwAU_V9h7l9FZz9jUyEXpCxfHFB_HFvy4DffVG6kOLEQkHy3XXwEFU66hjv6BoC7dgQAvD_BwE

A dedicated programme of support has been launched by the Plunkett Foundation to help rural community businesses across the UK as they battle the unprecedented challenge of the coronavirus lockdown.Thanks to funding from the Co-op, Plunkett will offer a dedicated package of free Covid-19 support for open and trading community businesses, as well as those developing groups that have been affected by the pandemic.
The new scheme will focus on getting one-to-one support to groups that need it the most. This will include free practical support from Plunkett’s national network of specialist community businesses advisers. All forms of community business – including woodlands, farms, bakeries, pubs and shops – will be able to get support, advice and guidance on a range of issues such as;

• developing short – medium term cash flow,
• reviewing business plans,
• applying for funding,
• upholding good practice governance,
• utilising community shares and accessing government support.

Those developing groups that were working towards opening their business will also be able to access adviser support to help these projects navigate this challenge.

​https://plunkett.co.uk/new-support-available-now/
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New Programme

​To help families bring some structure, learning and fun into their daily routine during this difficult time, CYPSP have created a resource pack which brings numerous resources and activities together in one place. 
 
All resources are free and are in the public domain.
 
Download your copy of the CYPSP Resource Pack for Children & Young People
http://www.cypsp.hscni.net/download/documents/CYPSP-Resource-Pack-April-2020.pdf

​An amendment to Working Time Regulations came into force in Northern Ireland on 24 April 2020 to allow for annual leave (up to 4 weeks) not taken as a result of coronavirus, to be carried over into the next two leave years.

What has changed?
Under the normal Regulations, employers are required to ensure that the minimum leave under the Working Time Directive of four weeks is taken in the leave year it relates to. This is important to ensure workers and employees get enough rest and remain healthy, both physically and mentally.
The amendment known as the Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 amends the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 and allows for annual leave of up to four weeks (pro rata for part time staff) to be carried over into the next two leave years. This legislation reflects changes already in place in Great Britain.
In proposing the change in legislation Minister Diane Dodds noted that the amendment applies only to circumstances where workers are unable to take their leave as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

​NI legislation amended allowing carry over of annual leave

Linking Generations NI have come up with some lovely ideas to keep generations connected during this difficult period of social isolation.
These can be downloaded from their website
Some, I'm sure you are already using but there are a couple of very thoughtful ideas as well.

These can be downloaded from their website

• They have gathered together some ideas of how you can stay connected to different generations within your family and community in our Intergenerational Ideas for COVID 19
• The Intergenerational Postcard of Kindness, is the perfect sneaky educational task to get children involved with and spread some love and cheer to an older friend or relative.
• The Family History Resource is a great activity for the whole family to get involved with and use this time of forced separation to have the conversations we don’t always have time to.

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Volunteer Now partnered with NICVA to deliver this essential learning on how to put best practice in place for involving volunteers safely in such challenging times.

Covid-19 has highlighted across the world how important volunteering is.  Volunteers are brining amazing support to those 'most at risk' in our communities and more and more people are stepping up in terms of getting involved and offering help.  However, we need to ensure safe methods and systems to protect everyone.

This webinar is now available to view here.  (Recorded on 9 April 2020.)

Volunteer Now have also published some Good Practice Guidance information sheets when involving volunteers and volunteering during the Covid-19 crisis. These include Guidance on Volunteering when on Furlough, Informal Volunteering in Response to Covid-19, Keeping Children and Adults Safe Factsheet and more.  To view the information sheets, please click here.