Our befriending scheme started with a handful of volunteers visiting a few residents in Teignmouth who had been referred by a local doctor's surgery. Ten years on it has grown into one of our largest programmes, supporting people across the wider area.
Many of the original matches lasted for years rather than months, with several volunteers staying in touch long after their formal befriending role ended. One long standing volunteer has been visiting the same resident every week since the scheme began.
As the scheme has grown we have introduced phone befriending alongside home visits, so that people who prefer a shorter, more frequent form of contact can still take part. We are now recruiting new volunteers to keep up with demand.