- Are you Bilingual?
- Do you like meeting new people and forging new friendships and connections?
- Do you have good communication skills and a friendly, helpful manner?
- Do you have an hour per week to spare for a chat?
- Would you like to support a community member who is feeling lonely and isolated?
Become a Volunteer Befriender
SIS and Together Co Befriending recognise how valuable a phone call can be in relieving isolation and other social stresses.
A volunteer Telephone Befriender can make a real difference to one person’s life by providing a positive social experience.
Migrants and people with language needs can feel particularly isolated. They often have few people they can connect with because of language and cultural barrier. A call from a bilingual volunteers demonstrates that there is still someone who cares; a listening ear, someone to share thoughts with and take the mind off every day problems.
Telephone Befrienders can play an important role in helping a person to regain a sense of purpose and direction, boosting their confidence by connecting them with the community.
Volunteer Telephone Befrienders will:
- Have good communication skills
- Have time, motivation and energy to create a special and unique relationship
- Be patient, empathetic and respectful
- Befriend one (or more) people for a minimum period of 3 months
- Make a weekly phone call to their friend for up to one hour
- Help SIS support your “friend” with other practical or emotional needs
Volunteer Befrienders will receive:
- Training and a manual to deliver the service
- Additional skills development and training opportunities
- Support from a Projects Co-ordinator and from their peers
- Out of pocket expenses
For more information about the Befriending service click here and to register your interest please contact Laura Gilbert on 07593 446810 or use the form below.
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