Our model of operation has been running successfully since 2019. The core focus has traditionally been arranging for volunteers to visit older people (Link Friends) in their own homes for 1-2 hours, once a week. These visits often become a lifeline with many reporting that it has transformed their lives. With the onset of Covid-19, these visits have been carried out via telephone befriending since April 2020 which has been very successful. One link friend said “I really appreciate your call. The Need - We have provided 83 hours of telephone befriending. There is a need to scale up the number of lonely people we support. As such, with greater awareness created in Aberdeen the number of referrals keep increasing weekly. There is a need to employ a part-time staff on 16 hours per week to be able to cover all the paperwork and assist in the health and risk assessment, matching of link friends and volunteers.
