THE doors may be shut, but the Bathurst Community Op Shop is continuing to provide help to people who are in tough situations.
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Mayor Bobby Bourke, who is heavily involved with the running of the facility, made the decision to close the op shop and end its food van service on Wednesday to protect community safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
"The volunteers down here are all over 60 and the handling of the food [is a risk] If we can cut back on a few things, it makes [stopping the spread] easier," he said.
While these key services are unable to continue, Cr Bourke said he is not going to turn people away if there is a safe way to help them.
"I'm still letting the homeless have a shower and do their washing," he said.
Further to this, he has given away excess tinned food to people who are in need and has made a request for the public toilet block near the shop to be cleaned more frequently.
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A phone number has also been put on the op shop's closed sign and people are encouraged to ring if they need assistance, or even if they just need someone to talk to.
"If someone is in need, I do want them to ring me. If someone needs help, I want to be able to help," Cr Bourke said.
At this stage, he is unsure when the op shop and the food van will be able to re-open.
It will only happen if it is deemed safe to do so.
"I'll just take the directions of the state and federal governments. If they relax the restrictions, I'll look at re-opening," Cr Bourke said.
