Befriending scheme running in Lenton
About the project
This is a fairly new one-to-one befriending project, running with the Tasty Tuesdays free community meal.
It aims to support adults (who we call clients) who arefeeling lonely or isolated or are experiencing, or have experienced, difficulties with their mental health.
Your befriender will provide company, someone to talk to, and a weekly social meeting to look forward to.
Our befrienders are all volunteers, who will be recruited, trained and supported by the project co-ordinator. You’ll be matched with a befriender and will then meet with this person every Tuesday. Your meetings till take place at the Tasty Tuesdays venue in Lenton, at a time that suits you between 3.00pm and 7.00pm.
If you and your befriender would like to get involved in cooking or serving the Tasty Tuesdays meal you’ll be very welcome, but this isn’t required.
Once you’ve got to know your befriender you might also choose to meet at other times, or somewhere else, perhaps to do an activity.
Tasty Tuesdays in Lenton is a weekly community meal cooked by a rotating team of volunteers and served at 6.00pm (last serving 6.45pm). The meal and hot drinks are free of charge to everyone. The meal is meat-free and open to all, no matter what your personal situation or where you live.
What is my befriender for?
Your befriender will be trained to offer you company and support, and a non-judgmental listening ear. He or she will spend at least 1 hour a week with you, on Tuesday afternoons or early evenings, at the Tasty Tuesdays venue in Lenton.
Your befriender will offer you the support, company and encouragement that will help you to improve your self-confidence and get involved in new interests or activities.
Your befriender cannot take on the role of a counselor, support worker, adviser or carer.
Who will my befriender be?
We believe that adults of all ages and from a range of backgrounds can make good befrienders, and that people can bring different skills and experiences. We are positive about involving people who have experienced social isolation or mental health difficulties and are now ready to support others.
When we recruit volunteer befrienders we will look for adults from across the whole community, from all ages, genders, races, colours, religions, nationalities, ethnicities, marital statuses, and social classes, and regardless of disability. We want our befrienders to reflect the city’s community.
Your befriender will be aged 18 or older and will have completed a DBS check and given two character references. They will be able to meet you for at least 1 hour a week, for at least 6 months.
We will ask you to tell us a little about your personality and the personality that you would like your befriender to have. We will then try our best to match you with someone with these characteristics, although we cannot guarantee that this will always be possible. Where this proves difficult we will talk to you to explain the situation and find out what you’d prefer to do.
What will I get out of this?
There are a lot of possible benefits that can come from having a befriender. These will depend on what you want to gain, how much time you are able to commit, and what your situation is.
Some of the benefits that can come from having a befriender are:
- Feeling less lonely
- Having a reason to get out of the house
- Having something to look forward to
- Feeling that someone cares
- Getting a new social circle
- Gaining the confidence to try new things or go to new places
- Feeling more positive
- Improving your communication and conversation skills
- Feeling more confident about talking to new people and making new friends in other places
Who can have a befriender in this project?
Anybody aged 18 or over who lives in Nottingham city and is feeling lonely or isolated can ask us for a befriender.
We would especially like to offer befrienders to people who are experiencing mental health difficulties.
If there are other befriending projects that we think you might be interested in, or which are near to your home, we might tell you about these as well.
We follow an equal opportunities policy and value diversity. You will be welcomed to the project no matter what your age, gender, race, colour, sexuality, religion, nationality, disability, marital status, social class, or ethnic or national origin.
We respect your right to choice and we try to provide a culturally-sensitive service. We will work with you to identify and, where possible, remove, any barriers or additional needs that might be preventing you from taking part.
Unfortunately, we are not able to provide translators or interpreters and cannot guarantee to have volunteers able to communicate in other languages. Due to financial limitations we cannot provide childcare or reimburse your travel costs.
What does it cost?
There’s no cost to be matched with a befriender, or to meet with them at Tasty Tuesdays.
At Tasty Tuesdays all food and drinks are free.
You will need to pay your travel costs to get to Tasty Tuesdays, but you are not expected to pay for your befriender’s travel.
If you and your befriender decide to meet somewhere else you will need to pay for your own travel and for anything else that you yourself want to buy or do. However, you will not be expected to pay for anything for your befriender.
How do I get a befriender?
The first step is to fill in the form and return it to us. If you don’t have a copy of the form or aren’t able to fill it in you can contact us at:
0115 9588590
Dunkirk and Lenton Partnership Forum, 5-7 Church Square, Lenton,
Nottingham, NG7 1SL
We’ll then get in touch and arrange to meet up with you for an informal chat, where you can find out more about how the project works and meet the project co-ordinator.
If you would like to, you can ask someone else to contact us or complete the form for you. This could be a relative, a support worker, an adviser or a neighbour.
Yes, I’d like a volunteer befriender
Please tell us a little bit more about yourself.
Name:Address
Postcode
Telephone number
Email address
Are you aged over 18?
Are you available on Tuesdays for an hour at some point between 3.00pm and 7.00pm to meet with your befriender?
How did you find out about this project?
Why do you want a befriender?
What would you like to gain from having a befriender?
Do you have any additional needs that you would like us to know about?(e.g. a disability, a health problem, speaking English as a second language)
How would you describe your personality? (e.g. shy, outgoing, confident, quiet, energetic, laid back)
What kind of personality would you prefer your befriender to have? (e.g. lively, calm, outgoing)
We will try our best to match you with someone with these characteristics, but cannot guarantee that this will always be possible
Data Protection:
In order to comply with the Data Protection Act (1998) we need your permission to store your personal details.
Please sign if you give permission for this
Signed:……………………………………….. (if you are filling this in on a computer please type your name instead of signing)
Date: ………………………………………..
We are committed to equal opportunities and we value diversity. We welcome applications from all people regardless of age, gender, race, colour, sexuality, religion, nationality, disability, marital status, social class or ethnic or national origin.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this form
All information will be kept confidential
We will be in touch soon
Please keep the following pages for information
What you can expect
We know that having a befriender may be a big step.
We want to create an atmosphere that is supportive, understanding and relaxed, and where you feel in control and know what to expect.
You can expect that
- Where possible, we will try to match you with a befriender who has the type of personality that you asked for. Where this isn’t possible we’ll contact you to discuss your options
- Wherever possible we will try to provide for any additional needs that you have told us about
- Your befriender will be trained and supervised, and will understand the importance of confidentiality
- We will explain to you what you can do if you feel that your befriender is not right for you, or that the befriending relationship is not working or is not appropriate
- We will explain to you what you can do if you want to make a complaint or to suggest ways we can improve or change the service
- Unless you tell us in writing that you want us to, we will not tell anyone that you have a befriender, or tell them anything about your relationship with your befriender
- We will maintain full confidentiality. Where there is a significant concern about the client’s safety or that of somebody else we will follow our safeguarding policy to contact the appropriate services
- If you feel that the befriender is not the right person for you, or that the befriending relationship has broken down, we will work with you to try to improve the situation. If you feel unable to continue with your befriender we will try, where possible, to match you with a new befriender
- At Tasty Tuesdays we will offer both you and your befriender hot drinks and (between 6.00pm and 6.45pm) a meat-free meal, free of charge. Where possible, and if told in advance, we will try to cater for additional dietary needs
- If you would like to, the opportunity will be available for you to join the team of volunteers cooking and serving the meal. This could be an activity that you do with your befriender, or something that you do outside of the befriending relationship
What you can expect of your befriender
- Your befriender will talk to you about when you are free and how much time you would like to spend together. You’ll then be able to agree when you’d like to meet, and for how long
- If your befriender has to cancel a meeting they will take all reasonable efforts to let you know
- Your befriender will not bring anybody else to your meetings unless you agree to this
- Your befriender will be non-judgmental and non-critical. They will not force you to discuss things that you don’t want to talk about
- Your befriender will respect your right to independence and privacy
- Your befriender will respect your decisions and lifestyle choices
- Your befriender will follow our confidentiality policy. However, where there are serious concerns about your safety, or that of another person, your befriender may be required to inform the project coordinator or, if appropriate, the emergency services
What your befriender is and isn’t
- Your befriender can provide company, conversation and a supportive listening ear, but is not a counselor, support worker or advice worker
- Your befriender isn’t a mental health professional and cannot offer any of the services provided by a doctor, mental health nurse or occupational therapist
- Your befriender should offer advice only if requested to by you
Dunkirk & Lenton Partnership Forum, 5-7 Church Square, Lenton, Nottingham, NG7 1SL 0115 9588590