Befriender for Dementia Support (Fordingbridge, Ringwood and surrounding villages)

 Avon Valley Dementia Support runs a music group and a café. In addition, it is now planning to start a new befriending service and is seeking volunteers.

Everyone needs a friend, but people living with dementia sometimes find that old friends start slipping away. This is where a befriending service steps in.

Befrienders will be carefully matched to the people they befriend. If they hit it off, then the befriender will start visiting regularly. At first, visits might simply involve chatting over a cup of tea, looking at photographs or listening to music. Since befriending is person-centered, it will usually be left to the person with dementia to decide what will happen on each visit.

A befriender can provide a great boost to confidence, self-esteem and independence. Befrienders can also help to ease boredom and loneliness and provide much needed stimulation.

Skills

Volunteers must be:

• Reliable
• Friendly
• Good listeners
• Able to rely on your own initiative and common sense, but also know when to seek support