THE YMCA in Highbridge has teamed up with the council to support vulnerable people in the community by offering them a place to stay in their new building.

YMCA Highbridge and Burnham-on-Sea, which is part of YMCA Dulverton Group, has been working in partnership with Sedgemoor District Council to support people by opening up their new building to enable them to safely self isolate.

People staying at the new YMCA building in are being provided with three meals a day prepared by the YMCA team at Yew Trees nursery in Axbridge and have also received kind donations from the local community.

Martin Hodgson, chief executive of YMCA Dulverton Group said: “As you know this wasn’t part of the plan, however it has been great to welcome new people into the accommodation and give them an opportunity to be safe.

"It’s been a mammoth task, however with the support of Sedgemoor and so many other partners we have been able to make a great provision for our community.”

The YMCA team have also been working to support residents to understand and follow the Government guidelines regarding self-isolating and social distancing as well as providing support in partnership with the Nelson Trust.

The support is being provided 24 hours a day.

YMCA Dulverton Group have also been adapting services across Sedgemoor to meet the changing needs of the community throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and have been working to ensure that the most vulnerable members of the community are supported.

Andrew Pearce, of YMCA Dulverton Group said: “We have been really touched by the support of the people of Highbridge who are offering donations and assistance where possible.

“Many of the people we are accommodating would have otherwise been sleeping rough or sofa surfing and as a result would have been at huge risk, our job is to ensure we make them as safe as possible during these uncertain times.”