Our free Befriending Service is for over 70s to enhance the quality of life to alleviate loneliness and isolation
Who is the service for?
We support people aged 70+ who have limited social contact with family and/or friends. Priority is given to those people who have no one.
We offer a variety of befriending services
Telephone befriending: Our telephone befriending service provides regular telephone calls for a friendly chat with one of our befriending volunteers. Whether you are looking for a general chat, want to hear about someone else's day or just want a listening ear, our telephone befrienders can be there for you.
Carers - Telephone befriending: A matched volunteer will phone the carer on a weekly or fortnightly basis to have a chat.
Face to face befriending: due to the high volume of referrals for face-to-face support, this option is currently on hold. Telephone and Penpal is still available.
Penpal letter: A matched volunteer will send and receive a letter once a month
Referrals can be made by individuals, family, friends, neighbours and professionals.
Are there any circumstances when the Befriending Service is not suitable?
Our aim is to assess every referral individually for suitability. We regret that in some circumstances a person's needs may exceed the support available from our service. For example, people with memory loss, dementia or mental health issues may need a higher level of support. In these cases we will endeavour to provide information on other suitable support.