Why did we form this group?
In January 2015 when a violent storm hit the area, some homes were without power for up to 4 days. This highlighted the need for a locally prepared response to such events - and so Dornoch Area Community Resilience Group was formed in 2016.
We are now part of Highland Council and NHS first response initiative and have organised a Rest Centre and a Street Buddy System to help our residents from the Mound to Whiteface in the first stages of a local emergency (for example: a power outage over 8 hours). In the event of an emergency, the team of volunteer Street Buddies (your neighbours) will contact or go out and check on people in their allocated areas and others will set up the Rest Centre in the Dornoch Social Club. We all now have a safe place to come for hot food, warmth and a comforting cuppa. It is a place where you can get up-to date information and advice on the emergency by dropping in or phoning our helpline.
Pandemic. We came into our own having the first emergency being the Covid Pandemic. We managed to raise over £150000 in 2020 and 2022 for the residents of the Dornoch Area by providing food, ready meals, heating grants, emergency repair grants, communication equipment and lots of care out in the community. The spin off from this is our little Food Hut which continues today.
If you can, print out this page or note the phone number at the top down on the fridge and keep it somewhere safe. The Resilience Group and its resources has been instrumental throughout the pandemic, thank you to everybody for your support at such a challenging time.
Further reading
Across Scotland communities are being encouraged to 'think ahead', to prepare for all kinds of severe weather, assessing the risks and developing plans to cope with adverse events. There is some great information from the Scottish Government here:
Advice for emergencies in Scotland (ready.scot)
We are currently in the process of transferring this project to the local community council currently building the new community hall. enquiries can still be sent to charles@dfgcommunity.com
