This week HILS stepped up to support vulnerable people in West Sussex affected by a major water supply disruption, going beyond our usual services to help those who needed it most.
Thousands of properties in parts of Kent and Sussex experienced water outages or extremely low pressure after infrastructure problems caused taps to run dry, forcing local authorities to set up emergency bottled water distribution points. Local resilience teams, councils and organisations worked hard to respond to the situation.
When West Sussex County Council reached out asking for extra support, our teams didn’t hesitate. HILS staff were out in the community distributing bottled water to vulnerable residents – including people who aren’t current HILS clients. As an organisation rooted in care for everyone in our communities, we were more than happy to help where we could.
Our priority at HILS is always the safety, wellbeing and dignity of the people we support. This week showed once again how local organisations, statutory bodies and volunteers can work together in a crisis to make sure that the people who need it most are not forgotten.
We’re proud of the extra mile our teams went, and grateful to West Sussex County Council and all partners on the ground for their coordination and collaboration.
You can read more about the water crisis on the BBC News website here.
