Volunteering: how it works

We receive the majority of our referrals through health and social care professionals. Sometimes older neighbour’s family members may refer to us and older neighbours sometimes refer themselves. Anyone can refer in to us as long as they have the consent of the older neighbour.

Some people have no family at all. Some have family who don’t live close by. Some have family who live close by but work a lot or have very busy lives. Loneliness is subjective – the amount of company a person has isn’t always a good indicator of how lonely they feel. We have always found the families of our older neighbours to be very welcoming of our volunteers and really appreciative of the time the volunteers give.

We encourage you to do whatever works best for the two of you in your new friendship. It can be set or flexible from week to week.

Like any other person, our older neighbours may sometimes forget they have made arrangements or something may come up, so our first piece of advice is not to panic! If you keep trying and still can’t contact them, please phone your volunteer coordinator. If you can’t make contact, we advise you to phone the main charity line 07523 698530 (9am-5pm M-F). If it is outside of office hours and you are very concerned, we advise you to phone the non-emergency police line on 101, who can do a safe and well check.

We never give the older neighbour your phone number, we leave this for you to do if and when you wish to.

They can, but we ask that you are always present

Yes, if you would like to but this is not something we ask of our volunteers. Some of our Older Neighbours are unable to leave their homes but if you are paired with someone who can, and you are happy to then there is no reason you can’t go out together. If you are using your car, we advise you to inform your insurance company that you volunteer for a charity and sometimes use your car to transport your older neighbour.

You’re doing a wonderful thing for your older neighbour as a befriender, and they are likely to feel very grateful. However, please don’t accept any money or gifts of high monetary value from them. This is to protect both you and the older neighbour. If your neighbour offers you anything of high value, please let your volunteer coordinator know.

You can if you wish to, but this is not something we ask of you. If you wish to buy them a gift, we advise this is something small.

Yes. We ask for a minimum of one hour, but if you would like to phone/visit more than this, you can.

We advise to befriend one person to begin with until you are familiar with befriending and volunteering. If you wish to befriend a second person, contact your volunteer coordinator, and they will have a chat with you.

One hour a week.

It is important to us that you enjoy this experience so we want to match you with the right person. When you first meet your volunteer coordinator they will ask you a few questions about the person you may wish to volunteer for to make sure your time spent volunteering is enjoyable.

You will have a one-to-one meeting with a volunteer coordinator that lasts around half an hour. In this time they will tell you all about the charity and how we work. You will be sent a volunteer handbook and the b:friend Safeguarding and Data Protection & Privacy Policies.

We understand people may need to miss a week or two if you are away or unwell. Please let your older neighbour know and then pick back up the following week

Head to our volunteer page and fill in the online form. You will receive a welcome email with a link to complete your DBS check. Please check your junk folder too. Once you have done this a volunteer coordinator will be in touch to arrange a meeting. Once your DBS check is clear, you can be paired up. The time for this varies depending on the number of older neighbours in the area in which you wish to volunteer. If there are older neighbours in your area, we are confident you will be paired up quickly.

All volunteers have an enhanced DBS check and meet with a volunteer coordinator to ensure they are people we wish to represent the charity. We emphasise the importance of confidentiality and safeguarding in volunteer training. 

As our older neighbours are aged over 65, we do not require them to complete a DBS check with us. However, we do ask referrers to disclose as much information as possible to protect our volunteers.

Please tell your volunteer coordinator as soon as possible.

Your volunteer coordinator will go to the older neighbour’s house 30 minutes before you to ensure a member of the charity is there before you arrive. If the visit is going well, your volunteer coordinator will leave 30 minutes after you arrive, leaving the two of you alone for your final 30 minutes. This gives you both the chance to have a proper chat. If you are happy to be paired with that older neighbour you are then able to arrange your next visit.

Yes – we love our volunteers getting together, making their own connections and having opportunities to speak with other volunteers. We have a Facebook chat group for all active volunteers, but we also run volunteer socials in all of the areas we work. This is a chance to have a bite to eat, a drink and a catch-up with members of the team and other volunteers doing the same thing as you.