It’s been nine months since the James Tuttiett Charitable Trust donated towards HOPe, a charity based in the New Forest. Our donation went towards the charities newly formed Befriending Service, which supports older people in the New Forest who are dealing with social isolation and loneliness, matching them with volunteer befrienders. In the last year alone, the charity has improved the lives of 50 local older people, and given more than 2,000 hours of support to help them cope with loneliness.
The charities highly trained Befriending Coordinators meet with the service users to assess their needs and matches them with a volunteer befriender who shares their interests and hobbies. The service user and volunteer meet once a week as a minimum, with the support of the Befriending Coordinators.
Currently the charity is offering this service in New Milton, Barton on Sea, Lymington, Ringwood and surrounding villages. The hope is to expand this in the coming year to meet the growing demand. The donation from the JTCT has enabled the charity to hire two more Befriending Coordinators to help in the Lymington and Ringwood area and gain even more volunteer support.
There is an increased demand for the charity’s services. Currently, 30 older people are on the waiting list so the charity has introduced a short-term Befriending service for those who are waiting an operation or may be relocating. They have also introduced a Dementia Befriending service, with 10 clients in the last month alone having been referred with some form of dementia. The charities lead Befriending Coordinator is trained in Dementia Care and is offering specific training sessions to volunteers.
To find out how you can become a befriender and brighten up the life of a lonely older person or donate to the charity please visit http://www.hopenewforest.org