Tackling loneliness through befriending

As part of a community mental health service, The Bridge is a hub that provides a safe place for people experiencing mental illness, where they can receive assistance from trained staff and volunteers as part of their recovery process. At The Bridge, people can access one-to-one support and a range of recovery-based activities like art, gardening, sport and fitness classes, social groups.

The team at The Bridge receive a lot of referrals for befriending – someone to have a friendly chat with service users. Your fundraising will allow a new, telephone-based befriending service to be created. It will cover training and mentoring of volunteer befrienders, as well as purchase of equipment such as mobile phones. By allowing people to connect with a befriend volunteer, the service not only improves wellbeing but reduces isolation.