Celebrating Befriending
A HOUSEBOUND man hopes to go bowling again, thanks to Kent Coast Volunteering’s befriending project.
Our charity matched a champion bowls player from the 1990s with a volunteer who has researched the local clubs so they can play a game together.
There are so many stories of how our Good Neighbours Service volunteer befrienders are helping to connect people with the community.
Another man turned to volunteering to help him find meaning after his wife died. The octogenarian was acutely lonely – and decided to help other people who were feeling isolated. He is now matched and Coordinator, Michaela Luckett, says: “There’s a real joy there for both of them.”
A man suffering from agoraphobia was unable to see his wife who had been in a care home for 18 months. But with the support of his befriender, he is going to see her now.
Coordinator, Sarah Murnane, says: “The role of a befriender is so much more than just visiting a lonely or isolated person. It is life changing for the better for so many of our clients. My visits always end knowing that I have made a difference just by chatting and getting to know them. The joy that the client shows when they are matched is what this role is all about.”
Volunteer befrienders also report how the service boosts their wellbeing.
Lori, whose match struggles with early dementia and mobility issues, says she has been able to help in many ways including shopping and hospital visits: “I get as much out of befriending as my match does.”
Volunteer Hayley says: “I joined the befriending service to try and make a difference to someone’s life, my job in retail is soul destroying and I wanted to feel like I was helping. Well, it’s given me much more than that, in Joyce I have made a new friend, we get along well, and she gets my sense of humour. So, thank you Joyce.”
- Anyone can be a befriender. You need to be willing to visit someone in their home regularly for a chat, and if possible, connect them with other activities in the community so their network grows. An hour a week is a guide. Find out how to become a befriender HERE.
- And anyone can be lonely. Our service currently supports the over 60s currently struggling with loneliness. Due to demand we prioritise the most urgent cases. Find out who is eligible HERE.
Loneliness:
A Campaign to End Loneliness report shows how people describe the thoughts and feelings of loneliness with words like anxiety, fear, shame and helplessness.
“These powerful emotions can influence how we act. They can create a downward spiral where loneliness causes someone to withdraw further from family and friends and so become lonelier.”
Kent Coast Volunteering is accredited by Befriending Networks, who say befriending reduces loneliness and social isolation by increasing connections and that the befriending relationship is nurturing, enriching, and trusting.
The benefits of befriending include:
- Fostering a meaningful relationship: befriending creates a relationship that has value in itself for both clients and volunteers
- Awakening interests: volunteers can help service users reconnect with old interests or develop new ones to sustain them between befriending visits
- Acting as an early warning system: befriending volunteers are often able to act as “canaries in the coalmine”, spotting emerging needs and flagging these to schemes for early action
This current work would not have been possible without the support of our current and recent funders.
We would like to thank long-time supporters the Philip and Connie Phillips Foundation with Colyer Fergusson Charitable Trust, and new funders Crowdfund Kent and SEK for helping to keep this service going. We are currently seeking new funding.
A massive thank you to all our volunteers.
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