Ready Friends
Coronavirus community action for befriending organisations
- Please check out the resources and links on RVA’s Coronavirus Community Action page
- This includes how to sign up as a volunteer. Please pass this onto anyone you know wanting to volunteer as a local Coronavirus Response Volunteer
- RVA has prepared Staying Safe whilst Volunteering: A Guide for Voluntary and Community Groups to assist established groups to deliver services safely during this time, with suggested best practice.
For existing befriending schemes
If you are now making a plan to provide another form of support (telephone or digital befriending):
- Consider what are the risks, how can these be minimised at this time. What additional guidance do your befriendees and befrienders need?
- Make a contingency plan among your staff team that includes actions to take now and as the situation/guidance changes.
- Communicate guidance/protocol that has been agreed upon within your organisation to volunteer befrienders.
- Communicate guidance and any changes that have been agreed upon to your befriendees.
- Post your organisation’s guidance on your website or social media.
- At a glance guidance for staff managing befriending schemes
- Transitioning to distance befriending – for volunteers
- Transitioning to distance befriending – for staff managing befriending schemes
If you want to start up a telephone befriending service from scratch
Resources for your group or organisation
- Start Up and Run a Group RVA’s guide on setting up a new group
- Volunteer Now Good practice guidelines to setting up befriending service
- A comprehensive guide to befriending practice in the UK Befriending Networks Good practice in Befriending
- Short video on supporting volunteers Supporting volunteers
Resources for your volunteers
- Top Ten Tips for new befrienders Basic guidance for people who have not been a befriender before.
- A more in-depth training guide Being a Befriender : a good practice guide
- The NHS / Royal Voluntary Service Check In And Chat guidance includes some useful tips Getting_started_as_a_Check_in_and_Chat_volunteer
- Looking after yourself Protecting Your Wellbeing
- Short video of basic safeguarding guidance Safeguarding tips
- Short video of staying safe whilst volunteering Staying safe
- Short video of good practice tips for safeguarding for telephone befrienders Telephone befriending
Ready Friends
- This project is all about supporting local people, communities and voluntary sector groups to reduce loneliness and social isolation in Reading. A number of Ready Friends activities (like the Befriending Forums) are held regularly but we also undertake time-limited projects in response to the changing needs of the people who live in the town.
- Ready Friends supports lots of existing local community groups and charities and works in partnership with public bodies like Reading Borough Council. However, we are always interested in talking to new people who would like to take action on loneliness and have an idea they’d like to develop. Ready Friends can help with information, advice, training and support around developing your idea; funding; finding a venue; recruiting volunteers; publicising your event or project and identifying potential partner organisations.
- Got an idea? Get in touch! ready.friends@rva.org.uk
Ready Friends Befriending Forum
- Ready Friends Befriending Forums meet quarterly and bring together local people who want to take action on loneliness and social isolation. They could be from an existing charity or voluntary organisation or an emerging community group or someone who’d like to make a difference in their neighbourhood.
- Each Forum event is themed and we welcome suggestions for items to include. We always start with introductions and good news from groups around Reading, so it’s a great way to network, share your work and find partners for new projects.
The Befriending Forum on 12 March was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. We’ll keep you updated about the forums scheduled for later in 2020:
- 18 June
- 24 September
- 3 December
Reports and resources from previous forums
- Report from Dec 2019 Befriending Forum which focused on the role of technology in reducing loneliness and social isolation.
- Have a look through the slides from the December 2019 Forum, which have useful links.
Video from Wavelength
Friendship volunteering evening
Read the RVA News article about our special evening for friendship volunteers in November 2019. You can also read an evaluation report on the evening. We are still looking for friendship volunteers to participate in interviews for a promotional film that all community groups will be able to use in recruitment campaigns. If you are interested in taking part, please get in touch with Rhiannon at Ready friends: ready.friends@rva.org.uk.
Ready Friends Toolkit
Ready Friends, in partnership with Reading Neighbourhoods Network, have launched a new toolkit for anyone interested in taking action on loneliness and social isolation. Access the online toolkit where you can also download an 8-page booklet to share.
Other resources
- Making Reading Friendlier: a Ready Friends Action Plan 2019-2020
- Social Isolation and Loneliness in Reading report (2017)
- Look at the range of befriending schemes in Reading.
- See current befriending opportunities.
