Volunteers beat social isolation by knitting blankets throughout pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has been a difficult period for many people, not least the victims of domestic abuse and elderly people isolated from family and friends.

With this in mind, volunteers have come together to knit blankets for Llamau – a domestic abuse charity with a base in Caerphilly town.

In total, 44 blankets have been knitted by more than 30 volunteers, aged between 18 and 87, from across Caerphilly County Borough.

The blankets were given to Llamau on Tuesday, December 8.

The scheme is run by the Caerphilly Miners’ Centre for the Community – the community hub which opened in 2015 on the site of the former Caerphilly Miners’ Hospital.

A knitting group has been active at the centre for five years.

The centre’s secretary, Katherine Hughes, said: “Before lockdown, we discussed ways to keep people connected, and decided the knitting project would be one of them.

“An advert about the knitting project was put on our Facebook page and it had more than 22,000 hits. Out of that came a group of people who said they were interested in helping.

“People were knitting using their own resources before we were able to open back up again in the summer.

“Before the firebreak lockdown, we put out another advert on Facebook, which had 11,000 hits.”

Ms Hughes added: “People learned how to use the technology, stayed connected and made new friends.

“This has helped keep a lot of people going this year.”

Knitter Sheila Hopkins, who is a member of the craft group at the Miners’ Centre, said being able to take part in the project helped her mental health during the pandemic.

She said: “It has been nice to do something constructive that benefits myself and others. It’s not just us who have been involved, but people in care homes have helped too.

“So many people have benefitted through this project. We’re going to continue doing it.”

Karen Hayes, Llamau’s volunteer co-ordinator for Gwent, said: “This will mean a lot, because people will be aware that these blankets have been knitted by people who have been thinking about them.

“It’s an uncertain time for many people, so this will be comforting.”

Caerphilly’s Senedd Member, Hefin David, described the project as “inspiring” and said: “The Miners’ Centre has been a central part of the Caerphilly community for so long and the knitting project is just one example of what they can do.

“Through the leadership of Katherine Hughes and her team of many volunteers, they have been a key source of safe support and comfort throughout the coronavirus crisis.”