Do you remember a time when you needed a friend but no one was with you? You reached for the phone or paid a vist to someone because you hated that feeling of loneliness.
In Britain, there are thousands of people with a combined sight and hearing loss who never escape from that feeling of being isolated. Even if they have family nearby, their family can't visit all of the time. They need a friend - not a nurse, or a chauffeur, or a servant - just a friend who'll share some of their free time with them.
As a Deafblind UK volunteer your time and friendship will go a long way. You won't be asked to provide special services, or skills - just to open your circle of friends and let a person with a sight and hearing loss in.
As a friend to a deafblind person you'll share stories and laughter, maybe go for a short walk, or have a chat over a cup of tea. But most of all you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your efforts have made a real difference.
If you don't have time to pay a visit, you might like to become a Tele-befriender - we all enjoy receiving chatty calls from friends, and a call once a week to a deafblind person can really help reduce the sense of loneliness they often feel. This service is currently only open to people who can use a conventional telephone, however with time we are planning to grow this scheme to reach out to those who use other methods of telecommunication such as minicoms.
No matter how you help; no matter how much time you give, you'll make a big difference in your community and to the lives of deafblind people.
Do something wonderful today - be a friend to a deafblind person. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things.
Hayley - secretary, mother and Deafblind UK Volunteer:
"When I first applied to be a volunteer with Deafblind UK I had some reservations…what was I letting myself in for? I had never even met a blind person before, let alone a person with a hearing and sight loss - how would we communicate for a start? How much of my time would it take? What training would I receive and would I be able to cope? My fears soon vanished when I met Deafblind UK's local representative who put me at ease chatting about the different types of activities volunteers are involved with and that special training is provided if necessary. She told me I even had a choice of what I might like to do, from being a pen friend to visiting a sight and hearing impaired person in their home and the work is so flexible, you organise visits yourself.
After considering my options I decided I would like to meet David, who has similar interests to me. Although I was nervous when we first met, I soon felt relaxed and now there is no stopping us! We've been for walks in the local park, and more often than not, we just chat for hours over endless cups of tea. I don't consider my visits to David to be my voluntary activity any longer - I am simply visiting my friend."
David - partially sighted, hard of hearing. Loves walking and The Beatles:
"I hadn't had the opportunity to enjoy activities or to meet people for years. In fact I hadn't been out of my home town in five years and no-one in that time had ever visited me and said 'what shall we do?' or 'let's do this!' Since meeting my volunteer befriender Hayley, I am now going for walks in the park which I love, and going shopping for myself for the first time in years - I didn't realise there was so much choice!! I can't always keep up with what is going on, but Hayley lets me know what is happening. Best of all are the times we spend just chatting and laughing. I have something to look forward to now - her visits! We all need friends!"
To become a Volunteer Befriender contact:
The Information and Advice team on 01733 358100 for an informal chat and more information.
