Befriending offers informal support, usually through volunteer befrienders, to people who feel lonely and isolated or would just like a chat with someone now and then.
What is befriending?
Befriending is an informal but supportive relationship between a Befriendee, someone who might be lonely or socially isolated, and a Befriender, someone who is usually a trained volunteer.
Befrienders can help people to feel more connected to their communities, better supported and less alone.
Befriending can come in many forms including regular face to face visits in someone’s home, buddying to support someone to gain confidence and get out and about, regular telephone chats, or calls to check that someone is ok, for example if they’ve just come out of hospital.
You can find out more about Derbyshire organisations which offer befriending services on our Find a Befriender page.
If you think you would like to become a volunteer befriender and help to support someone in your community then check out our Become a Befriender page.
What is Derbyshire Befriending?
Derbyshire Befriending is made up of a range of organisations, all of which offer one to one befriending or social activities to help people who might feel a bit lonely and want a bit of company.
Derbyshire Befriending organisations come in all shapes and sizes. Some are larger organisations which offer different sorts of services across a wide area, some are smaller volunteer run groups which work in particular areas such as a local parish, and some are specialist organisations that work with particular groups of people, for example women who are deaf.
You can learn all about the different organisations and what they do by clicking on the Find a Befriender Near You page or if you would like to volunteer then take a look at our Become a Befriender page and see what’s involved and how you might be able to help.