Befriending: Make someone’s day, change someone’s life

About loneliness

Loneliness, a feeling that everybody experiences at some point of their lives, whether it's a quick desire for casual conversation or a longing for a lively, social event.  Either way, the majority of people trust that the feeling is only temporary; we know that as soon as we step outside and regain human contact, that tiresome feeling of loneliness will fade.             

For the younger population sometimes all it takes is a quick FaceTime call or even a text message, however, for a large number of the older population, a digital connection is not enough. Did you know that there are 1.4 million chronically lonely older people in just England alone? For a large number of older people loneliness isn’t just a seasonal feeling that they can trust to leave them, instead it can linger, dwell and eventually turn into something significantly more serious.

How is loneliness a problem

In today’s society we often function mostly online, from talking to friends to shopping for groceries. Our reality now, is very different from what it used to be for older people, and it can become quite overwhelming. It’s easy to get lost when the world has completely changed and forced you to change along with it (which is not possible for all older people); not everyone has the luxury or will to adapt to the changing world. Now, many people find it difficult to do basic everyday things that used to be easy for them and were crucial for their everyday human contact. As a result of this, older people are more likely to experience loneliness and social isolation.

During the pandemic many of us experienced extreme loneliness after having to self-isolate, Covid showed us just how damaging isolation from human contact can be. But research actually shows that levels of loneliness in the older population did not increase as significantly as the younger population, this is because so many older people were already so desolate, isolated and alone for various reasons including retirement, losing loved ones, living alone, being unable to do the things they want or feeling out of place with modern society. It’s important we know that loneliness, if left untreated, can lead to a significant deterioration of mental health and professionals predict that if we do not tackle this issue, the number of older people who are often lonely will increase to 2 million by 2026!

How Befriending can be a solution

It has been found that people with a high degree of loneliness are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those who are less affected.  Luckily, Age UK Medway have created a service that can resolve extreme loneliness in so many people around Medway. Befriending is an amazing opportunity to not only save somebody from loneliness, social isolation and the many serious problems that can come with it, but to also create a meaningful friendship that could potentially last a lifetime.

So what exactly is Befriending?

Befriending is a free service that matches a Befriender with an older person in Medway based on shared interests, it’s an amazing opportunity that offers people real companionship. Befrienders visit their Befriendees on a regular basis, usually for around 30 minutes to an hour a week, but this can quickly turn into more as real friendships are being formed. When asked about their Befrienders, the Befriendees shared some sweet and honest thoughts, including one person who said;

As humans, we need social interaction, it’s essential for our health. Research shows that going outside and socialising with people benefits not only our mental but physical health! But sometimes all it takes to dissolve feelings of loneliness is a simple conversation. A quote from a Befriendee; 

But Befriending isn’t just great for the clients, it’s also an amazing chance for the Befrienders to help out the community and have a great experience that can spark into a real friendship, one of Age UK Medway’s volunteer Befrienders, Kim, explaining “I volunteered because I wanted to give help and companionship but have gained a special friend”.

Become a Befriender today

If you are interested in helping us tackle loneliness and the serious issues that can come with it, become a Befriender for Age UK Medway today.

Contact Age UK Medway on 01634 790140 or email enquiries@ageukmedway.org.uk

by Nadia Palmowska,
Work Placement Student