Living with reduced sight and hearing can be lonely. For various reasons people may find themselves becoming increasing isolated and unable to enjoy the same level of social interaction that they may have otherwise done. That’s why we offer a free befriending service where you can be matched to a volunteer befriender to enjoy some regular company.
We offer three types of befriending:
Home befriending
Home befriending involves a volunteer befriender visiting you on a regular basis to have a chat, share hobbies, go out and about or do whatever you want.
“Peter makes a big difference to my life. He helps me with small things that are really important to me, like going shopping and helping me with my iPhone. He’s a good friend and we get on really well. If my house is a mess when he visits, he’ll tell me and help me tidy up. He even fixed a broken drawer last week!”
Tele-befriending
Tele-befriending involves your volunteer befriender talking to you over the telephone on a regular basis. This works well for people who live in more remote areas or who may find it easier to communicate over the telephone.
“Matthew is a great listener; I really look forward to his weekly call. We talk about the news and he educates me about his life in London. We have a good laugh and it’s great to have someone to talk to without worrying about going out and about.”
E-befriending
E-befriending involves talking to a volunteer befriender via email. This is ideal for those who are deaf or hard of hearing or those who want a lighter befriending option.
How it works:
To benefit from our befriending service, contact us to get started.
First, we will find out exactly what you want from a befriender; whether you just want someone to have a chat with or you would like to go shopping, watch football or walk the dog with. We will then search for the right befriender for you. We take pride in matching our members to volunteers who have similar interests and hobbies.
When we have found your ideal befriender, we will introduce you to each other. Unless you want us to be more involved, we will usually then take a back seat and let you and your new befriender enjoy each others company.
Our befrienders are volunteers and all have some basic training from Deafblind UK. However, volunteer befrienders are not able to provide a personal care service and so will not be able to help with activities such as lifting, giving medication, collecting pensions or acting as a sitting service.
We offer our befriending service in the following South East Wales counties:
Newport
Cardiff
Caerphilly
Torfaen
Merthyr Tydfil
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Monmouthshire
Blaenau Gwent
Become a volunteer befriender:
Befriending is a highly rewarding way to volunteer and is flexible enough to fit around other commitments. It gives you the chance to build a lasting relationship with someone and to experience first hand the difference that you are making. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer befriender, please visit our website to search our current vacancies.
