Befriender Volunteer

Volunteer Role: Befriender

Volunteer Manager: Volunteer Support Officer

Where you will be based: Home/Remote

Why we want you

If you are a people person with a positive outlook on life then you are exactly who we are looking for to make friendly calls to people living with epilepsy who are feeling lonely or isolated.

People who are newly diagnosed or have drug resistant epilepsy are not able to drive and it can be scary to go out when you don’t know when or where you might have a seizure.

By checking in with a friendly phone call you can brighten someone’s day. You may even be able to give them the confidence to make more connections in their community so they have support to get out and about a bit more. Either way, through your calls you’ll be making a difference, making them feel like someone cares.

You don’t have to have epilepsy yourself and your check-in calls don’t even have to be about epilepsy, sometimes people want to forget about that for a while and instead have a friendly conversation about what’s on telly, their favourite sport or their hobbies.

What you will be doing

Having weekly half hour chats with two or three people a week (depending on how much time you have to give)

Having conversations around shared interests or experiences

Helping people to recognise their own self-worth and build confidence

Signposting to our website, helpline or other services

Gently encouraging them to make connections in their community so they continue to be supported when the befriending sessions end

The skills you need

To be able to start and keep friendly conversations going over the phone or video call

Caring, compassionate nature with sensitivity to deal with emotional situations

Excellent listening and communication skills

Respect of different values and beliefs and understanding of different personal situations

Access to the internet to use our online volunteer portal

What's in it for you

Training on how to be a Befriender Volunteer as well as epilepsy awareness, mental health and communication skills training

Join our network of volunteers through meet-ups, social events and networking

Keep up to date with all the latest news about our work on our volunteer portal

Full support when you need it with a dedicated volunteer supervisor

Pride in knowing you are helping others to be more confident and less isolated

Job Type: Volunteer

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Weekend availability

Work Location: Remote