Telephone Befriender
Tower Hamlets Friends and Neighbours
Tower Hamlets Friends & Neighbours has been befriending older residents across the borough since 1947. Telephone befriending is one of our most powerful services — a weekly phone call, same person, same time, that gives an older neighbour something to look forward to and someone to be missed by. As a Telephone Befriender, you will be matched with one older neighbour and call them once a week. Calls are typically 20 to 45 minutes. You can volunteer from your own home, your workplace, or anywhere
Tower Hamlets Friends & Neighbours has been befriending older residents across the borough since 1947. Telephone befriending is one of our most powerful services — a weekly phone call, same person, same time, that gives an older neighbour something to look forward to and someone to be missed by. As a Telephone Befriender, you will be matched with one older neighbour and call them once a week. Calls are typically 20 to 45 minutes. You can volunteer from your own home, your workplace, or anywhere with a quiet phone signal — we have telephone befrienders who do their calls during their lunch break, after the school run, or in the evenings. We welcome volunteers who can commit to a weekly call. We are particularly keen to hear from people who speak Bengali, Sylheti, Somali or Cantonese.
Befriending, Buddying & Mentoring,Caring,Community Work,Support Work
Language Skills, Customer Service
– A warm telephone manner and the ability to listen well. – Reliability — being able to make the call the same time each week matters more than the length of the call. – Discretion and respect for confidentiality. – A quiet space and a reliable phone signal for the duration of the call. – Comfortable with pauses, repetition and conversations that meander. – No specific qualifications required. Full training provided.
– Make a meaningful difference in just one hour a week, from anywhere. – Ongoing free training in safeguarding, dementia awareness and active listening. – Regular peer support sessions with other telephone befrienders. – One-to-one supervision from our coordinator. – A reference after six months of consistent volunteering. – The flexibility to volunteer around work, study or caring responsibilities. - Phone call expenses will be covered.
1 hour per week (one weekly call of 20–45 minutes plus brief logging). Minimum commitment: 6 months. Times: completely flexible — agreed between you and the person you call. Daytime, evenings or weekends are all possible. Location: anywhere with a quiet space and a phone.
N/A
Remote
N/A
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