Sandwell Together telephone friend describes how volunteer has been on a journey with her “she has stuck with me for nearly 4 years and has helped me through my darkest period to today when my life is so much better”
The challenge
G says that at the time of the referral she was in a “bad, bad, place”. She had lost her husband to leukaemia, home and job and didn’t think life was worth living.
Our approach
G was referred to us at the beginning of 2022 and has been supported by the same volunteer J ever since. G says that J has stuck with her from when she was really low to today. She said that initially the calls were every week and that J really helped her. G said that she told J everything “the whole story” and J was “absolutely brilliant”. G said that it really helped that J’s calls were not time limited, either per call or in terms of the number of calls.
The outcome
G says that J “is such a beautiful lady” and that she would love to meet her although she knows she can’t. J says that she started to feel better after about 2 years when she moved into her new flat and started going out more. G said that J was always very encouraging of her efforts to get out and she always used to make her laugh which really helped. She described J as a “very, very caring person” and said that her life has now completely transformed and that she’s now never in, in fact when J calls now she say’s “oh my God have I actually caught you in!”. G said that although she now feels better and happy she has asked J if she will keep calling just once every 3 or 4 weeks because she loves talking to her and counts her as a friend.
Sandwell Together offers an informal model of befriending support for residents of Sandwell who are lonely, isolated and/or alone. The service offers a vital lifeline which is provided by a team of volunteers who maintain contact appropriate to individual need on an on-going basis. To find out more about the service or to make a referral, please visit the Sandwell Together website page.