HANDY BEFRIENDING (360G-DevonCF-A421594)
Funding Organization
£2,000
Recipient Organization
Befriending for isolated older people
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Grant Details
| Amount Applied For | 3600 |
| Amount Awarded | 2000 |
| Award Date | 2016-11-24T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Beneficiary Location: Country Code | GB |
| Beneficiary Location: Geographic Code | E01015157 |
| Beneficiary Location: Geographic Code Type | LSOA |
| Beneficiary Location: Name | Plymouth 029D |
| Grant Programme: Code | 2016/R3 |
| Grant Programme: Title | Plymouth Royal Mail |
| Last Modified | 2020-04-08T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Planned Dates: Duration (months) | 12 |
| Planned Dates: End Date | 2017-12-01T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Planned Dates: Start Date | 2016-12-01T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Primary age group | Seniors (65+) |
| Primary beneficiary | Older People |
| Primary ethnicity | White British |
| Primary issue | Stronger communities/Community support and development |
| Recipient Org: Description | The Befriending Consortium is a not for profit Community Interest Company working in the community and voluntary sector, providing a range of services, activities, support and advice for the most vulnerable, isolated older people living in the community. Our various small groups provide a weekly opportunity to eat socially, chat, make new friends and most importantly get out of the house. We provide transport for over 95% of our clients as they are not able to access such social situations without appropriate transport provision. Our small consistent groups, long term volunteers and staff offer a welcoming environment that give clients a reason to get up, dress and have something to look forward to. We organise a variety of trips and outings to local venues, which act as a source of conversation, stimulation and reminiscence. 1:1 befriending is provided by way of home visits and outings to those unable to attend groups; a community development approach involving the slow build-up of trust and increase in confidence and self- esteem often results in clients gaining the ability to join in a small group and make new friends. We are able to support our clients with filling in forms, helping with various problems and attending appointments. This element of our service provision has played a much larger part in our activities in line with the increasing need to use on-line facilities, which many of our clients experience difficulties with. A simple assessment ensures we try to deliver the needs and wishes of our clients. The main ethos and principles of the Consortium have always been to offer support to the most vulnerable, socially isolated people living in the community who find it very difficult to access other activities and services. The major aim is to reduce social isolation and loneliness by providing opportunities for developing social relationships and conversation, getting people out the house and part of a stimulating environment in order to help physical and mental health and improve quality of life. We work in partnership with many other organisations and have always been involved in larger projects such as Older Person’s Day, community events in parks, VE Day celebrations, Volunteers Week etc. We have deliberately kept the Consortium as a smaller friendly organisation that is easy to access and where we know our clients well and they feel they can contact us for help at anytime. We have always stuck to the original aims and objectives of our constitution which ensure that our services are predominantly for the most vulnerable older people, who are unable to access other activities The last two years has been very challenging and we have had to be extremely adaptable and flexible altering our service provision so we could support our isolated clients as much as possible. Already experiencing social isolation and loneliness this period has resulted in depression, anxiety and loss of confidence. The challenges of increasing isolation during the this period exacerbated and enhanced the vulnerabilities of this group. The resultant poorer mental health and lack of social contact greatly affected their quality of life and well-being. As a befriending organisation we have supported this group during lockdowns in a variety of ways; 1. Lengthy regular phone calls (often 60 – 90 minutes long) 2. Doorstep visits and chats. 3. Where possible meeting outside in appropriate green places for a drink and chat. 4. Practical help with shopping, delivery of home cooked meals etc. 5. Support and I.T. help to sort out any financial, housing, benefit problems. In line with guidelines we have slowly introduced our group activities, starting with very small numbers of people which we have grown as confidence has increased. We are now achieving the range of services we usually provide and are ready to develop and expand our activities. The last two years has also seen a change in the demographics of our referrals and we have received a much larger number of clients in the 50 to 60 age group who have experienced isolation and loneliness that has been exacerbated by the lack of social contact and access to social activities. Some of these new clients have been supported via phone calls and visits and have now moved on with their social contacts and activities increasing. However, we still support a large number of this age group which has necessitated a change in some of the activities we provide in accord with the needs and wishes of this group. Thus we support these clients to access a range of activities; walking in the parks, visiting the museum, theatre,cinema and other places of interest, getting involved with local history projects. Initially on a 1:1 basis until they feel confident enough to expand their social activities these clients can then be signposted onto activites run by fellow organisations. tHE bEFRIENDING cONSORTIUM IS A major role in the setting up Plymouth Social Isolation Forum; this Forum is a group of varying organisations who have come together to look into different ways of combating social isolation and loneliness in the city. The Forum is running a Conference on this issue this year involving a wide range of organisations and individuals from the statutory, private and community and voluntary sectors. The Befriending Consortium is also dominant in planning a series of World Cafe mini-events that will access grass-root involvement from all areas of Plymouth in providing an innovative approach to collating ideas, thoughts, views and experiences on loneliness and isolation directly from the people it most affects. The Befriending Consortium is a partner in the Belong in Plymouth project run by Plymouth Octopus Project ( POP ) in which the main aim is to ensure that no-one is forgotten in the city. The Consortium also has input into Plymouth City Council's Community Builders innitiative. |