06 Feb “It lifts your spirits to have someone visiting, and this has made a big difference in my life.”

As you are aware, amongst other things, Community Builders help connect people back into the community with opportunities and activities they are interested in.

However, we also come across people who cannot get out into the community for one reason or another despite wanting to and become quite isolated. I’d like to give you an example of bringing people together and the difference it made in both their lives.

Jane came to me via the Torbay Community Helpline. She had suffered a fall a few months earlier and now had no confidence in going out. She had become quite isolated in her home but said she would love someone to visit her to help break up her week. I knew a volunteer – Ava – and called her to explain Jane’s circumstances. Ava was happy to meet her to see what was involved. I introduced them to each other; the rest is history, with Ava continuing to visit Jane for nearly two years.

I asked Ava what volunteering as a befriender means to her, and she said that she enjoys visiting Jane, that they have become friends, and that she feels very lucky. Jane said that it’s nice to have someone’s company as the only person she sees is her cleaner. Said Jane, “It lifts your spirits to have someone visiting, and this has made a big difference in my life.”

We also come across people in the community, carers who care for others. Excitingly, a new project in the pipeline, ‘Time for you Torbay’ is looking for volunteers who could offer some time to someone in their local community. It is run by The Torbay Community Helpline and will allow individuals who spend a lot of time together to have some time out. How wonderful that is!

Do you feel you could provide that friendly ear to someone like Jane? If you’d like to find out more or have an idea for new things that will bring people together, please give me a call – Usha Garrattley, Community Builder for Ellacombe & Plainmoor Mob:  07702557723  Email: [email protected].

Or if you are interested in offering a few hours a week and would like to find out more about the ‘Time for you Torbay’ project, please contact –  Natasha Talbot, Peer Development Coordinator  Mob: 07977 226277 Email: [email protected].