The Chatterbox Action Against Loneliness Programme is a successful telephone befriending initiative matching volunteers with lonely and isolated clients. Many of our clients are caregivers or bereaved former caregivers who have lost their social network due to demanding caring roles. This is especially difficult for those who are over 75 and finding it hard to create new friendships. We noticed that loneliness and social isolation were all-too-common in our clients and we set out to provide them with meaningful connection each week. For some, this is the only friendly conversation they will have. Sadly, many of our clients experience mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, and some are in or on the verge of crisis with little to no access to support elsewhere.
Our volunteer telephone befrienders are amazing people. They commit time each week (often around very busy lives) to speak to one or more clients, creating true, supportive and rewarding connections.
We ask for a donation to help us cover the costs of recruiting, training and supporting more telephone befrienders. We know that there are too many caregivers and bereaved people across British communities who are hidden, lonely, isolated and in dire need of some friendly companionship and emotional support. We want to be there for those people and your donation will help to make a big difference.