Mental Health Befriending
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Winchester Mental Health Befriending Service was set up to meet the needs of people with long-term mental health problems whose illness has led to them becoming socially Isolated.
The service recruits, trains and matches individual volunteers with clients who have mental health problems and helps them to provide regular, community-based support, companionship and encouragement. This helps clients to become more independent and confident.
WACA specialises in providing trained Befrienders to clients who are in need of support, guidance and assistance in getting back to becoming, once again, an active member of society.
With the incidence of mental illness increasing - such that 1 in 4 people will have some type of mental illness in their lives - WACA’s service has been met with great enthusiasm and is recognised as plugging a definite gap.
Learn More about our Mental Health Befriending Project:
What is Befriending?:
Befriending is a service offering support
and encouragement in both group and one to one social relationships.
Befriending activities may include:
- Someone on the end of a telephone
- Home visits for tea and chat
- Walking the dog
- Going for a coffee
- A trip into town
- Going to the Cinema
- An activity at a Sports Centre
- Eating out
- The weekly shopping ...
- ... anything that you would like to do that is ethical and affordable.
How does Befriending help?:
Having a Befriender helps in many different ways:
- By providing valuable respite for the recipient or their carer
- By providing a period of stability with a reliable trustworthy
- companion
- By providing hope that life can be more enjoyable with the right input
- By providing someone to reflect with on what it means to be valued and treated with respect ...
- ... in numerous ways, depending on the needs of individual clients.
Who can recieve help from the Befriending service?:
People can receive this service if they are socially isolated through poor mental health, stuck in a rut, or have an unsupportive relationship.
Becoming a volunteer Befriender:
Volunteers must be over 18 and have a good understanding of mental health problems. They should also want to be supportive, willing to listen and prepared to give up some of their time. Meetings are usually for a minimum of an hour a week and last for a period of time as agreed by the partnership.
Volunteers have an opportunity to acquire new skills, broaden their experience, have fun, meet new people and make a real difference to someone’s life. Regular meetings are set up with clinets when interests and activities can be shared whilst doing ordinary things like going for a coffee and having a chat.
WHAT SAFEGUARDS ARE THERE?
We follow best practice:
Volunteers are interviewed, with references and CRB checks obtained; They receive training and regular supervision.
ARE THERE ANY COSTS INVOLVED?
Volunteers can claim back money spent on necessary costs (train or bus fares, mileage costs if using a car, cinema tickets, coffee etc. can be paid for through the scheme.)
The cost of an activity must therefore be approved by the Project Co-ordinator.
How is MHB funded?:
In 2010 WACA won Lottery Funding Support for a Mental Health Befriending Service designed to help long term mental health sufferers who are having difficulty in tackling insularity and low self-esteem. The service has been created after 2 years of planning, research and a feasibility study.
Contact us:
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR
TO REGISTER PLEASE CONTACT:
Bruce White
Project Co-ordinator:
Phone: 07900 374 374
Email: mhb@waca.org.uk
The co-ordinator is managed by Stuart Banks you can contact him by phone at: 01962 854 844 or email: sbanks@waca.org.uk