Braunstone Over 60sBefriending Scheme

The Braunstone Over 60s Befriending Scheme has beenset up as part of b-connected, a well established,community based organisation in Braunstone.When a consultation exercise was carried out in the area,it was found that residents over 60 had identified two keyproblems with which they would like additional support.Firstly, they did not find it easy to access advice andguidance, with regard to things like benefits, housing, legaldisputes. The Citizen’s Advice Bureau now offers a weeklysurgery at b-connected to help with these issues.Secondly, they said that they felt isolated and found itdifficult to get out of their homes to make new friends.The Braunstone Befriending Scheme is intended to helpwith this, by linking up residents with volunteer Befrienderswho will be able to offer companionship and begin toreduce the sense of loneliness and isolation.

What is the Braunstone Over 60sBefriending Scheme?

0116 223 225645 Wellinger Way,

Braunstone, LE3 1RG

Anyone who can spend one or two hours each weekgetting to know an older person to help them feel lessisolated.

Although the service is for older people this does not meanthat all the volunteers should be of a similar age. TheBefriending Scheme Co-ordinator will carefully matchvolunteers with Befriendees, looking at interests,background and personality; it may be that in some of thebest matches a volunteer is much younger than the personthey befriend.

Befrienders will be going into another person’s home, so weneed volunteers who are extremely trustworthy and reliable,so we will take up references and carry out a CRB check.

If you would like to volunteer and think either of theseprocesses may cause a problem, please contact theScheme Co-ordinator..

Who can become aBraunstone Befriender?

What sort of things willBefrienders do?

As mentioned above, Befrienders will usually be visitingpeople in their own homes, listening to them and giving themthe individual attention and support that they need.The whole focus of Befriending is social and Befrienders arenot expected to carry out any domestic tasks, get involvedwith medical care or do anything other than chatting and‘being a friend’.Once Befriending is established and meetings are taking placeregularly, it may be that outings are arranged, e.g. to a locallibrary or park; something that both Befriender and Befriendeewill enjoy.

Is there training for Befriending?

Yes, Befrienders will be trained before they begin volunteering.The Befriending Co-ordinator will invite all new volunteers to aone-day training session. This will cover the essentials ofBefriending and make sure that people understand how theirvolunteering will work. At this point some people might decidethat Befriending is not for them, which is perfectly acceptable.After this other training sessions will be set up to cover specificaspects of Befriending. Volunteers will be able to suggesttopics in which they would like to receive training.We want our training sessions to be enjoyable and it isimportant that all volunteers understand that the training isessential, because of the responsible nature of the role ofBefriender.

After training, Befrienders will have regular supportsessions with the Scheme Co-ordinator. These will providean opportunity to review how the Befriending is going,discuss any difficulties and check out future plans, e.g. fortrips out.Volunteers can use these sessions to suggest additionaltraining that they feel would be useful.We will also aim to arrange for Befrienders to meet upand share experiences, so that they become part of ateam and can support each other.

What happens after training?

Any travel expenses (e.g. bus fares) to and from thevolunteering placement will be paid by the Scheme. It isnot intended that any volunteer should be out-of-pocket asa result of Befriending.All volunteer Befriending activities will be fully covered bythe insurance held by b-connected.

Will expenses be paid?What about insurance?