Volunteer Role Description

Volunteer Befrienders for People with Dementia

Lewisham MindCare supports people with dementia with information and advicein the London Borough of Lewisham. We are looking for volunteer befriendersto undertake home visits to people with dementia toprovide social contact and to help people to undertake leisure and community activities and day to day tasks.As a befriender you can help improve the quality of life for a person with dementia by providing companionship to those who feel isolated and/or lonely.The focus is on supporting people to remain independent in the early to moderate stages of the condition. Our clients are still able to live independently but may lack the confidence or ability to do things by themselves.

Role Description:

To befriendpeople with a diagnosis of dementia, supporting them in a variety of different ways depending on their circumstances, needs and wishes.

Duties may include:

  • Regularly visit a person with dementia in their home
  • Build trust and companionship with the person with dementia
  • Be imaginative and plan for visits in advance by researching ideas the person with dementia has had or thinking of things they might like to do
  • Support the person with dementia to access social and leisure activities (as necessary)
  • Support the person with dementia with practical activities such as going shopping and sorting through mail (as necessary)
  • Support the person with dementia to attend hospital or medical appointments (as necessary)
  • Communicate to Lewisham MindCare staff if the person with dementia needs additional support to live independently as their condition progresses
  • Refer any health or safety concerns for the person with dementia to Lewisham Mindcare
  • Exchange information with the carer of the person with dementia (as necessary)
  • Participate in volunteer support sessions and undertake any training or development opportunities relevant to the role
  • Keep in contact with the Volunteer Co-ordinator and write a short report on each visit to feedback on a regular basis
  • Volunteer within the appropriate boundaries and operate within the Lewisham Mindcare policies and procedures

Your role is not to be a carer and you will not be asked to undertake any lifting of people with mobility issues or to undertake any personal care such as washing or dressing.

Commitment:

This role is flexible and the exact timing of visits can be agreed between the volunteer and client. A regular commitment from volunteers is strongly encouraged. We anticipate that most people will meet once a week and visits will take place during the day,between Monday and Saturday. Ideally we are looking for people who can volunteer for 12 months or more. You will also be requested to keep records of your visits and attend supervision with the Volunteer Co-ordinator, approximately once a month.

Requirements of the role:

No previous experience of supporting people with dementia is necessary as full training will be given. Skills and qualities we are looking for include:

  • Knowledge/experience of dementia or the ability to learn about dementia and its impact on people
  • Ability to communicate with older people, instigate and guide conversations and deal with repetitious conversations
  • Good level of spoken English, second languages welcomed
  • Non judgemental attitude and happy to support people from all backgrounds
  • Patient, sensitive and caring with ability to empathise with the experiences of people with dementia
  • Ability to understand the importance of appropriate boundaries and organisational policies and procedures and willing to work within these guidelines
  • Trustworthy and reliable and ability to deal with emergencies

We encourage applications from people from a variety of backgrounds, nationalities and ages (minimum age 18). This role is subject to an Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure. Information about criminal convictions will be requested and will be taken into account only when the conviction is considered relevant to the role.

Why get involved:

The role of befriender can be very rewarding. Volunteers gain satisfaction from knowing that they are helping to improve the quality of life for a person with dementia. In many cases a strong relationship will be established between the volunteer and client, for others, the emphasis will be on making the moments of being together enjoyable. In order to ensure you have a good volunteering experience we will support you with a full training and induction programme, ongoing support through group and one to one meetings and the chance to attend additional training and development opportunities. A reference can be provided after 3 months of regular volunteering.

Further information:

Please visit the website telephone 020 3301 7770 or please email .

Lewisham Mindcare is part of the Lewisham Memory Service, working in partnership with NHS Lewisham, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Carers Lewisham.