Many of you will now be changing your way of working, trying to keep in contact with those you have been supporting to reduce their social isolation and loneliness. there has been much talk about people needing to be physically distant, but not socially distant.

So how can we help you? Well, for those who want to stay in touch via the telephone, we have produced two resources:

Telephone befriending – information and resources

Compassionate and informative telephone calls during COVID-19

There is also a useful Age UK Leeds leaflet and a great easy to print checklist from Befriending Networks, Transitioning to distance befriending: guidance for befrienders during COVID-19. The Befriending Networks also has a lot of free resources.

All these guides look at how volunteer befrienders can stay safe. There will still be some issues you will need to consider within your organisation. For example, what questions you are happy for befrienders to resolve themselves (probably small practical issues) and when they need to refer back to staff.

Some of these issues may be different for your organisation today than they were a few weeks ago. You can use the Guides to get you started, to help you find the answer for your organisation and the people you support.

Jessica Duffy
Time to Shine Learning Facilitator