Face-to-Face Befriender
Tower Hamlets Friends and Neighbours
As a Face-to-Face Befriender, you will be matched with one older neighbour and visit them at home weekly or fortnightly for around an hour. The visit is shaped by what the person you visit wants. Some prefer tea and conversation. Some want a walk to the local shop or park. Some want help with a small practical task. Some simply want company.
Tower Hamlets Friends & Neighbours has been befriending older residents across the borough since 1947. We match trained volunteers with older neighbours who are lonely or socially isolated, for regular weekly or fortnightly visits. As a Face-to-Face Befriender, you will be matched with one older neighbour and visit them at home weekly or fortnightly for around an hour. The visit is shaped by what the person you visit wants. Some prefer tea and conversation. Some want a walk to the local shop or park. Some want help with a small practical task. Some simply want company. You are not a carer. You are a regular friendly face. Behind you is a full team — coordinator, safeguarding lead, trustees — and you are never alone with a difficult situation. We are looking for around ten new face-to-face befrienders across the borough. We are particularly keen to hear from people who speak Bengali, Sylheti, Somali or Cantonese. 1 in 6 people in the world feel lonely. In Tower Hamlets, many of them are older people who rarely leave home and can go days without a proper conversation. Befriending Week (1 to 7 November) is a good moment to do something about it. Volunteer information sessions: Our next online session is on Wednesday 4 November 2026, 6pm to 7pm, and we run one every month after that. Find out what befriending involves, how much time it takes and the support you get from us, and bring your questions. No commitment needed. To get the link, email admin@thfn.org.uk or call 020 3007 9120. If you can’t make the 4th, just get in touch and we will add you to the next one.
Befriending, Buddying & Mentoring,Caring,Community Work
N/A
– A willingness to listen and to turn up reliably. – Patience, particularly when conversations move slowly or repeat themselves. – Discretion. What is said in a visit stays in the visit, with the exception of safeguarding concerns which go straight to a team member. – Comfortable spending time one-to-one in someone’s home. – No specific qualifications or prior experience required. Full training provided.
– Make a meaningful, sustained difference to one older neighbour’s life. – Ongoing free training: dementia awareness, safeguarding, communication, loneliness in later life. – All travel and out-of-pocket expenses paid promptly. – Regular peer support and one-to-one supervision. – A reference after six months of consistent volunteering. – The chance to learn from someone whose life has been long, varied and interesting.
1–2 hours per week (or 2–3 hours per fortnight for fortnightly visits). Minimum commitment: 6 months. Times: flexible — daytime, evenings or weekends, agreed between you and the person you visit. Most visits happen in the home of the older neighbour, across the borough — Bethnal Green, Stepney, Poplar, Bow, Whitechapel, Wapping, Mile End, Shadwell, Limehouse, Isle of Dogs.
E2 9PL
St Margaret’s House, 21 Old Ford Road and older person's home.
Bethnal Green underground (Central line), 8 minutes walk. Buses 8, 388 stop on Roman Road. Buses 106, 254, D6 stop on Cambridge Heath Road. And buses 309 and D3 stop outside.
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