Befriending

Age UK Lindsey
The Old School House
Manor House Street
Horncastle
Lincolnshire
LN9 5HF
United Kingdom

Email: info@ageuklindsey.co.uk
Telephone: 01507 524242

Our Befriending Service is for people over the age of fifty living in East Lindsey, West Lindsey or North Lincolnshire, who may be at increased risk from loneliness and social isolation. This could be due to reduced mobility, bereavement or lack of access to social activities. Much of the support is provided by our fantastic volunteers and the service is completely free for our clients. However, we rely on donations, funding and income from our shops to meet the office and staffing costs required to ensure the day-to-day running of the service.

How we can help

We offer a number of opportunities for you to regain confidence and social contact through:

☎️ Telephone support
🏡 Home visits
🧑🏻‍🤝‍🧑🏼 Accessing social groups and community activities
📰 Newsletters and wellbeing packs
💻 Video calls and online group chats

Calls and home visits (when Covid guidelines allow), are made on a regular basis and can be flexible to suit both clients and volunteers. You can spend time chatting with your befriender and get to know each other, share interests and hobbies over tea and cake, or even play games.

We can also support you in finding and attending social activities in your area and, as part of our Keep Connected project, we can even help you to discover the world of video calls and online chats. We send regular newsletters to all of our befriending clients and sometimes even a special, seasonal treat!

The way in which we help you will depend on your specific needs and the volunteers and resources we have available in your area. Befrienders are not allowed to become involved in personal care, domestic tasks, legal or financial matters, counselling or offering formal advice, and not all opportunities are available in all areas.

Who we can help

Our Befriending Service is open to anyone over fifty who is at risk from loneliness or social isolation and who lives in our catchment area. The service may not be suitable for everyone, and what we offer will depend on the volunteers we have available in your area. Befriending may not be suitable for you if you have a condition that affects your ability to communicate or build friendships. For example:

• Hearing impairment severe enough to impede normal communication
• Mental health issues with a history of aggression, extreme mood swings, personality changes and/or communication difficulties
• Drug or alcohol dependency with inappropriate conversation, threatening behaviour or difficulty adhering to appointment times
• Dementia or memory issues affecting your ability to remember conversations, or recognise and cope with the introduction of one of our volunteers

Find out more

To find out more about our Befriending Service please call 01507 524242 during office hours.

You can refer yourself, a friend or family member, or (for healthcare professionals) your client, by using our online referral form or calling 01507 524242. Lines do get busy, so if we're not able to take your call please leave a message and we'll be in touch as soon as we can. Click on the link below for our referral form.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/lindsey/our-services/service-referral-form/

Online resources

There are a number of online resources available to help you, help yourself. A good starting point is the Age UK national website. Click on the link below to find out more.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/health-wellbeing/loneliness/