Telephone Befrienders

Deafblind UK members have combined sight and hearing loss and many live alone with few family and friends around them.

Could you help support our members who would like to stay in contact over the telephone and receive a weekly call from a friendly volunteer?

Making a regular call or sending an email or letter to one of our members could make a huge difference right now. So many of them live alone and having the opportunity to speak to another person can be of huge benefit to their general wellbeing.

How can you help…

We are looking for confident, chatty and friendly individuals who can hold a good conversation with our member over the phone. You could be chatting about similar interests or learning about each others' lives. Whatever the conversation, you’ll be making a positive difference.

Something as simple as a phone call could brighten up our member's week!

You don’t need to be local to the member and you don’t need experience to become one of our chatty volunteers. The majority of our members communicate with clear speech. You just need to be comfortable talking over the phone, engaging, able to instigate conversations and commit to regular weekly calls.

What skills do I need?

A Volunteer Telephone/Email Befriender makes regular phone calls or emails to our members and engages in conversations of mutual interest, offering support and friendship to each member. Reducing deafblind people’s isolation and improving their quality of life. Providing advice and guidance to our members, as appropriate, within a mutual friendship.

What’s involved?

As a Volunteer Telephone or Email Befriender your role would be:

To establish and build a befriending relationship. To call/email an identified deafblind person at a mutually convenient time on a regular basis. To enable the deafblind person to discuss topics of their choice. To engage in conversations of mutual interest with a deafblind person and to provide encouragement to maintain the flow of conversation for the allotted time. To provide advice and guidance to a deafblind person to a level appropriate within a mutual friendship. To provide regular updates of your volunteering activity to your named Deafblind UK contact

What times would I be needed?

This role requires a regular commitment of time, usually weekly.

The role will suit people who …

Willing to share their own personal interests with members who have similar or the same interests. Willing to engage in conversations with deafblind people to share interests. Willing to learn communication and guiding techniques to meet the needs of the deafblind person / people (full training will be provided). Over 18 years of age

What are the benefits to you?

Opportunities to meet like-minded people in your community Be part of a friendly and dedicated team. The satisfaction of knowing you will be making a difference to real people’s lives. New communications skills. Establishing positive employability skills to help you in your career path