Telephone Befriending
A friendly chat when you need it
We can offer a free, weekly social telephone call from a friendly Age UK Wiltshire volunteer to older people who are spending long periods on their own at home or who may have caring responsibilities that isolate them from the outside world.
Important Notice - Closed to new referrals
We're currently experiencing a high demand for our service and we are unable to take any new referrals for telephone befriending at this time. Please visit our Clubs and Social Search page for information about other telephone friendship services available.
What is telephone befriending?
As we get older, we may find we spend more time on our own. This can sometimes feel lonely, boring or make us miss friends or family.
If you, or someone you know, is missing the joy of regular conversation, Age UK Wiltshire can help.
We offer a free telephone befriending service so you can enjoy chatting with someone over the phone, all from the comfort of your own home.
How does it telephone befriending work?
We match over 65s who are experiencing loneliness and isolation, spend most of their time at home alone or who have caring responsibilities that mean they can't get out, with a friendly volunteer for a weekly chat. Our service has helped create many new friendships, and many people tell us their calls are the highlight of their week. To get started, we'll just need to know a bit about yourself and we’ll do the rest.
Who is the service for?
To sign up for our regular telephone befriending service, where someone calls each week, you need to:
- be over 65
- be experiencing a period of loneliness or isolation
- be spending most of your time alone or as a carer
- have identified that receiving a weekly call would make a significant difference to your well-being
- have your own landline or mobile phone
- be able to hear and be understood over the phone.
- be able to take a call on the day agreed with your volunteer
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Telephone befriending services (free) |
Age UK Call in Time (nationwide) Alabare - Mental health and wellbeing support project - temp project during COVID19 Carer's Support telephone befriending (for informal carers) |
Silverline (nationwide) RVS/NHS volunteers 'check in and chat' free befriending calls during the COVID pandemic |
Frequently asked questions - Wellbeing and Social Activities
Please help us be there for older people in need
By donating today, you could help us answer more calls to our advice line, provide volunteer support for older people struggling to manage on their own and provide regular friendship calls to people who are desperately lonely.