Befriending Project

Our Befriending Project has been running in Ealing since 1994 and is now open to Hounslow residents too! It provides a lifeline to people living alone who might go for days at a time not seeing a single person!

The Befriending Project supports people who are isolated and sometimes housebound. They may have a physical or sensory disability or illness, or they may have mild dementia. People who have a diagnosed mental health problem can be referred to our Linked Minds project instead.

Volunteers for our Befriending Project provide vital weekly social visits and support to get out of the home.

Everyone who is referred will be assessed against our eligibility criteria and on an individual basis. In some cases we may not be able to provide befriending if the client’s needs are too high, i.e. their dementia has progressed to the stage that they will struggle to remember their volunteer from week to week. If we are not able to support, we will always inform the referrer.

In order to provide support to those who need our support the most, to be eligible you must:

♦ Live in the London Borough of Ealing or Hounslow

♦ Be experiencing loneliness

♦ Living alone

♦ Not regularly attending a social activity (i.e a day centre) more than once a week

♦ Not have regular visits from family and friends