Would you like to help improve the quality of life of older people and to promote a positive view of ageing?
Mentor Befriending (in-person)
In this role you will support an older person on a one-to-one basis. They will be someone who has identified as being socially isolated or emotionally lonely or need chaperoning into the community.
We will support you through comprehensive training to make you feel competent and comfortable in your role. Once you are fully registered and trained we will match you with a person based on personality and location.
When you first meet we’ll help you both to make a plan of what the older person wants to achieve from being part of Reaching Out.
This service is bespoke for our clients; everyone you work with will have a different set of goals and ideas about what to get out of the 12 weeks of support. You could support someone who wants to get fitter by going for a walk or accompanying them to a class, you may provide emotional support to someone who has had a bereavement, or living with Dementia, you may support someone who wants stop smoking by accompanying them to a support group, the list is endless!
Volunteers can choose their own hours around existing commitments, we just ask for 1 hour per week to make a difference.
Through the 12 weeks of support, clients are assisted in making plans towards goals via achievable steps - to empower people and not build dependency. Once the client’s confidence has improved we would work towards your relationship with the client coming to an end so that you can help someone else.
Telephone Befriending
Did you know that you can also volunteer from home?
If you would like to offer support to isolated people by being a telephone befriender, then we would love to hear from you too!
Sometimes older people may experience issues with confidence, self-esteem and loneliness, especially if they have not had much contact with others for some time. We offer telephone support as a positive step to engage with people who have little or no contact with the outside world.
Having weekly contact with an older person via a telephone call will ensure that they have something to look forward to; they will have a bridge to the outside world and not feel so isolated. This regular contact has proven invaluable in identifying when something is not going well with the client.
- We provide comprehensive training, induction and on-going support to give our volunteers confidence in their roles.
- Hours are completely flexible to fit in around your commitments: 1 hour per week is enough to make a difference.
The Reaching Out project is a befriending service for people over fifty in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Merthyr and Bridgend.
The project is aimed at people who are isolated, particularly those who are recently bereaved, to support them to maintain a healthy and independent lifestyle. We are looking to recruit volunteers who can support older people for up to 12 weeks who might be going through a difficult time in their lives. Living on your own, especially at time when you are recently bereaved, and are used to having another person nearby, can have a marked effect on one’s own health and wellbeing.