Age UK Reading

Age UK Reading provides befriending services to the older people of Reading and surrounding areas so as to reduce social isolation and loneliness.

Information for volunteers

To help improve the quality of life for older people who live in the Reading area by providing friendship and support as part of the Age UK Reading Befriending Scheme. Many older people experience chronic loneliness in later life and as a result experience a decline in wellbeing and associated health impacts. Age UK’s Befriending service is there to offer human contact, warmth, and access to a support network for these people. People wishing to join the service (clients) are contacted by the co-ordinator and “matched” with a volunteer. There are 2 types of volunteer befriender within the project.
- Telephone befrienders. They simply call their client regularly for a chat and report back on how they are.
- Home visit befrienders. Regularly visit their client in the client’s home to spend an hour or so chatting.
Telephone befrienders and home visit befrienders are expected to make contact ideally once every week (although some do this fortnightly). Calls are usually around half an hour and visits are usually about an hour or so.