Charity launched to tackle loneliness amongst Chesterfield’s elderly by pairing them with friends

B:friend is a charity that aims to tackle the problem of social isolation amongst older people, by partnering them with a friend.

Having started in South Yorkshire in 2017, b:friend has helped find partners to support more than 1700 older people. After its success in the region, the charity is branching out, and will start to offer its services to those suffering from loneliness in Derbyshire.

Rayella Broomhead, Project Co-Ordinator, said: “The idea is that it is an open-ended thing and it turns into a friendship. It is the same person seeing the older neighbour each week, and all we ask is that volunteers commit to one hour a week.

“We’ve got amazing volunteers and they get up to all kinds of stuff once they get to know each other. The visits start in the older person’s home but they can go out for tea or to get a coffee, and a couple of our older people have been to the coast together with our volunteers.

“It has a massive impact. As staff we speak to these people when they’re referred to us, and when you see them a few months down the line, everything about them changes. The body language, the things they’re taking about- that reconnection to the community has a huge impact.”

Anyone, with consent from an older person, can refer them to b:friend, and people can also refer themselves if they choose. The process takes about five minutes, and there is no cost involved.

All volunteers undergo an enhanced DBS check, and b:friend then organises an introductory meeting with the volunteer and the older person before they are paired up.

Mrs Broomhead said: “I never realised the extent of social isolation until I started this job. I used to be a nurse at Chesterfield Hospital, and you get an idea of it when you see patients, but you realise when you see the number of referrals coming in.

“One gentleman said the other day that it has given him something to live for. He didn't think he’d be meeting new people, he was at a stage where he thought he’d just be losing people from his life.

“This tiny amount of time makes such a big difference- it definitely changes people’s lives.”

Mrs Broomhead said there had been an influx of volunteers already, and hoped that the first pairing in Chesterfield would lead to more people getting involved and benefitting from the scheme.

“We’ve only been working here for a couple of months, and when we let people know what we were doing, we got loads of volunteers say they wanted to get involved.

“The first pairing in Chesterfield was made yesterday, which was lovely- they got on like a house on fire as soon as they met, and hopefully there’ll be many more.”

More details about referrals and volunteering can be found on the b:friend website here.