Befriending

Our befrienders are here to talk, laugh and build lasting friendships with.

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:

BSL video befriending

Video befriending involves your volunteer befriender talking to you with BSL over video platform (Zoom, Skype etc) on a regular basis.

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.

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, get in touch email or telephone our helpline to get started.

First, we will find out exactly what you want from a befriender. 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.