Age UK Kensington & Chelsea
Age UK Kensington & Chelsea is a local charity working with and for older people. We aim to promote independence and well-being in later life, encouraging self-help and peer support. We offer a wide range of services and activities, and provide interesting opportunities for people of all ages to get involved as volunteers.
Description
Volunteer befrienders offer social contact to older people in the community . People living alone can become very isolated and begin to lose touch with friends and family for many reasons. Complex health problems, anxiety and depression are just some of the issues facing older communities. That's where you come in! The support and companionship from a volunteer can greatly improve peoples health and emotional well-being! A lot can be learnt from the life experiences of our older populations! Get in touch if you would like to volunteer.
Duties
The volunteer will visit the older person on a regular basis (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) for approx. 2 hours at a time. The volunteer provides companionship, support, conversation and may even enable the older person to go out by acting as an escort, where appropriate.
Who will the volunteers be working with?
Older populations
Befriending Coordinator
Volunteer Coordinator
Training
We run regular Inductions and do ask volunteers to complete some online training (safeguarding, confidentiality, boundaries etc). We also ask volunteers to complete a visit record via a quick link google doc. There may also be opportunities for you to attend some in person training, and you will be invited to other events (for our members and volunteers) taking place throughout the year.
For befriending roles we do ask for a minimum commitment of 6 months. You will visit the person at home, and they are usually weekly (or every other week) for between 1 - 2 hours. They tend to take place Monday - Friday between 9.00 & 5.30pm. There can be some flexibility around this.
