\u201cIt\u2019s not just the TNR activities that are going on; there\u2019s a whole collection of groups doing things to support the community.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
A crisis can bring out the best in humanity. As in <\/span>Woodbridge<\/span><\/a>, as in <\/span>Marston Moretaine<\/span><\/a>, so in Tisbury.<\/span><\/p>\n Tisbury, a Wiltshire village with a population of around 2,400 people, is like a case study in community support initiatives. From solar electricity to health and safety, locals are in the habit of looking out for one another.<\/span><\/p>\n When local trumpeter Gustavo Montes de Oca heard of lockdown measures rolling out across the south-west, he teamed up with a local project manager and Tisbury Parish Council to create a volunteer support network and neighbourhood response service for vulnerable residents. \u201cTisbury has a lot of elderly residents, with a high level of vulnerability,\u201d says Gustavo. \u201cIt\u2019s also served by a fast train to London, which increases our levels of potential exposure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The partnership extended to include a former public health consultant and a virologist, and the team began by handing out leaflets asking for community support volunteers and encouraging requests for assistance. The response was impressive.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe initial response was fantastic,\u201d says Gustavo, \u201cbut then we realised we needed a way of receiving and processing all the requests.\u201d The project needed a dedicated telephone line that provided a single point of contact so everyone knew where to go for help. It also needed to use a local number in order to demonstrate ownership of the project and maintain trust among the community.<\/span><\/p>\n Gustavo\u2019s initial experience with phone system vendors wasn\u2019t straightforward. \u201cTheir terms were too complicated, or way too inflexible,\u201d he says. \u201cThey didn\u2019t seem to get what we were trying to do and what we needed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n From a Google search, Gustavo found RingCentral and was able to explain his needs to the team. \u201cThe RingCentral engineer had a look into what we were trying to set up and then diagnosed exactly what we needed and how it should work,\u201d says Gustavo. \u201cThe process was as simple as we had intended.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t