Volunteer Telephone Befriender

Our telephone befrienders offer one hour of their time a week to chat with an unpaid carer. By speaking to the same person (or people) each week, our befrienders are able to offer proper companionship, helping them feel less isolated and more valued. We hear time and time again these phone calls are the highlight of a person’s week.

Telephone befrienders duties are :
- To attend initial induction.
- To make a regular call to a carer
- To provide undivided attention, a listening ear
- To offer emotional support making the client feel valued.
- To alleviate social isolation and loneliness
- To promote positive mental health
- To feedback details of the call to the Volunteer team and to raise any issues
or concerns

What we ask you to do:
- Engage as a member of the team.
- You will be committed to Carers FIRST Equality and Diversity policy.
- You must have access to a telephone
- You must have an empathy for carers and an understanding of the issues that
many carers face.

What we will do:
- We will provide you with an induction and training.
- You will be allocated a Supervisor and invited to attend regular catch ups
with them.
- You will be invited to attend regular drop-in sessions with other volunteers.

What skills do I need?

Skills:
- Good communication skills
- Ability to strike up a conversation and develop relationships.
- Friendly manner
- Emailing : weekly notes to Volunteer Team

We are a registered charity commissioned by local authorities in Medway, London, Lincolnshire, Essex, Southend. We provide mandatory safeguarding and GDPR training online and have numerous other training modules available to volunteers. We are happy to meet volunteers online or in person to make the recruitment process easier.

Interests

• Health and Social Care
• Mental Health
• Older People

Activities

• General Helping
• Supporting Charities
• Supporting People and Befriending