Befriending

We are looking for befrienders from the BAME community.

The role of the Befriender is to be someone who can listen, encourage and support BAME women who are going through life’s challenges. It would be great if you have had lived experience of the issues we deal with but it is not essential. 

Main tasks and responsibilities

• To make contact via telephone or other means such as face-to-face, Skype/zoom, Whatsapp, email, etc with a person(s) with whom you will be befriending.
• To give the person(s) some social interaction and emotional support through conversation.
• To stay connected with the organisation and feedback any concerns, which may need addressing.
• We also have monthly group meetings where the women come together and share information and tips on lots of different topics e.g. healthy eating, parenting, COVID worries, etc.

Due to the nature of our group where we work closely with vulnerable women we will be considering female applicants only for this role.

Benefits to volunteer

• Opportunity to gain experience and develop communication and interpersonal skills.

What skills do I need?

Skills, attributes, qualifications and experience

• You need be an empathetic person who is willing to provide a listening and reassuring ear and be able to work confidentially on your own.
• Would suit someone with patient and warm manner.
• You will need to go through a DBS check.
• Need to be 20+ years.

When do I need to be available?

Details

You will need to meet with the women you befriend regularly. This could be done online via zoom, phone call or FaceTime etc. Or you could meet with them face-to-face in a public environment such as a coffee shop/park etc.