Befriending Week – Befriending is support
‘I’ve gained a really great friend, someone that I now feel really close to and care about deeply. As humans, we just want to feel heard and supported. If all it takes to make someone feel marginally better about themselves is an hour a week, chatting, watching telly, or having a cup of tea, then I’m more than happy to partake. I really enjoy it and couldn’t recommend it more. It’s a great way to spend time with a person you may not have met otherwise.’
1-7th November is Befriending Week: it’s a chance to celebrate befrienders and the huge difference they make to the people they support. Thousands of people in Hackney are lonely or isolated, especially after the pandemic. At VCH, we run a befriending service called Community Befrienders, which pairs volunteers with people of any age and background in Hackney who are lonely or isolated.