Author: Laura

Friendship Call Participant – Claire

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

I first spoke to Claire on 10th September. In her referral notes it said she was a victim of domestic violence. When I spoke to Claire she told me she felt very emotional, lonely and depressed. Her parents and children live in Cornwall and she has no family or friends in Rotherham. She originally moved to Rotherham to be with her partner (this is the violent partner), she no longer has any contact with him.

Claire told me that she would like to meet new people and start working again, even if it just a few hours a week. However, since the domestic abuse she has lost all confidence in herself and has low self-esteem. Claire also suffers from bipolar disorder and has done since 2012. During our 50-minute conversation Claire became very upset on several occasions. 

Over the past seven weeks I have spoken to Claire at least once a week, sometimes more.  During each conversation, typically lasting an hour, we have spoken about lots of different thing including family, work, relationships, her childhood, home etc. Seven weeks on and Claire is a different woman to what she was. 

I told Claire about some college sessions taking place free of charge in Thurcroft and suggested she go along to these. Claire now attends the craft session every Thursday and the sugar craft every Friday and has signed up for the Mindfulness starting next month.

Claire is really enjoying these sessions and they have made her feel so much better about herself. Claire has also joined a walking group and a yoga class. Two weeks ago, she went on a course for getting back into work and is now working with Reed who are helping her put a CV together. She is looking forward to getting back into work. She is also very interested in volunteering where possible i.e. events etc through RotherFed. Last week Claire also spoke to the mental health team and a plan has now been put in place for her, Claire is so happy about this and feels like everything is starting to come together.

Claire is a lovely woman; I really enjoy chatting to her and it is fantastic to see what progress she has made in such a short space of time. Claire is very grateful for the friendship calls and say what a difference they have made and the things they have led to. I really hope that Claire continues to move forward in a positive way, I feel she has so much to offer.

Friendship Call Participant – Allison

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

Allison had joined RotherFed’ s befriending services through a referral process in July. She had wanted to join the service because she was feeling socially isolated and felt she needed someone to talk to. This was due to shielding measures and the tiered and national lockdowns that have been put in place throughout the year. The latest lockdown has affected Allison more than she would have thought it would. Even though Allison has had her ups and downs over the past few months, she always brings an enthusiasm on every call that she is on despite having her own issues. I have been speaking with Allison for nearly 4 months now and Allison has always said “The calls make so much difference, I don’t feel that I’m on my own anymore”. Allison has such a fun and bubbly personality and is so easy to talk too. Allison comes to life when you are talking with her.

Whilst speaking on one of our weekly calls in October, Allison said that she loves chatting with others and always has been. Then Allison said” I bet I would be good at chatting to others over a phone because I’m always chatting”. Having spoken with Allison briefly about what the befriending service was about Allison said she would love to get involved somehow. Allison is a breath of fresh air and is always in her element when she is talking to others. After our first call it was clear that Allison was a very social person and made the calls so easy.

Allison is now joining RotherFed as a volunteer for the befriending calls service to help other people throughout Rotherham who are in similar positions to herself.  Allison has said “The calls make a big difference to her life and she wants to help make a difference to others too”. Allison has always given our service kinds words like “The calls are helping me there is no doubt about it. The calls are keeping me sane and are really helping. I am not just saying that I mean it”. That is what Allison wants to do for other people who are in the same position as she is. To be a voice on the end of the phone, to speak with others to not only fulfil her own social needs but to make others feel good too.

The RotherFed Volunteers team are now supporting Allison to become a volunteer to help others who like her want to speak with someone. I recently caught up with Allison as part of her weekly call and she is really looking forward to the helping people with befriending calls. Allison says, “it gives me something to focus on whilst the country is going into lockdown and over Christmas”. The most amazing thing about Allison is that she is using her own hardship of self-isolation to help others who are currently feeling isolated in the community.

Friendship Call Volunteer – Sue

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

Sue started her volunteer journey as a Rotherham Hero’s volunteer. It was during lockdown that a call was made to support those who were socially isolated or lonely with a friendly call from a volunteer. Sue then went over to be a friendship volunteer this is what she has to say;

As a befriender volunteer I found it works in two ways. I want to and hope that I am helping people and making a positive difference to service user’s varied lives. Sometimes they may be lonely, bored, or isolated. By being able to listen, offer friendship support, empathy, and a friendly non-judgemental ear I am honoured that they can share their worries or life stories. The calls can also potentially identify if they have any needs or concerns with which they may need help.
My life has been enriched by hearing about their various interests, joyous and, occasionally about their sad times. Speaking with diverse service users is more rewarding and satisfying than I could have expected. I now appreciate my own situation more and hope I am becoming a better and more understanding person.

Friendship Calls Volunteer – Ras

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

Ras joined RotherFed in May in response to a call for friendship calls for those living through COVID-19 that are socially isolated or just lonely. This is what he had to say;

I’ve been working as a volunteer with the befriending service since May. I originally signed up as a Rotherham Hero to deliver food and essentials to residents who were shielding and through this was contacted by RotherFed who asked if I would like to do this instead. I’ve always been a people person, so it seemed like a perfect fit.’
‘I’m now retired but I have spent all of my working life in customer facing roles, so I’m used to talking to different types of people and enjoy getting to know people from all backgrounds. I currently make three calls a week to residents who either want a chat, or just have someone to listen to them. Lots of residents who are shielding are lonely or bored and simply want some company. Just a small amount of time out of my day can make a real difference to somebody’s week which is really rewarding.

Friendship Calls Volunteer – Sarah

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

I saw the Rotherham Hero’s programme adver-tised in the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic and instantly felt that sense of inclusivity and ca-maraderie that I believe ultimately underpins our community; I applied to join as a volunteer tele-phone befriender immediately and loved every minute of it. The application process was simple and well executed, and I was pleased to receive a telephone induction and useful reference docu-ments that helped me fulfil my duties. As well as this though, the continual online and telephone support from the RotherFed team really helped me to feel like a part of something bigger, like a valued part of that community. As for the be-friending role itself, it has been a privilege to take part in the scheme, and to chat each week with people who I knew would benefit in some small way from hearing a friendly voice at the end of the telephone, as I in turn benefitted from hearing theirs’. Thanks again for the opportunity to volun-teer with the befriending team, I feel very fortu-nate to have taken part in the scheme.

Best wishes, Sarah

Friendship Call Participant

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

One of our volunteers had been out and about with his wife and stopped to see that a gentleman on the kerb had just had a nasty fall. He immediately went to help and called an ambulance, in the meantime another ambulance passing was flagged down. The crew assisted at the scene and it was when they asked the gentleman’s name that the volunteer found out he was one of our service users who he had supported in the past. This gent has memory problems, and the ambulance crew at the scene recommended it was probably quicker for the volunteer to take him to hospital – which he did. And once there because of the support he had given in the past to this gent the volunteer was able to give the medical team more details on him.

Friendship Call Participant

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

We had a major breakthrough with someone we are keeping in touch with. She has very complex mental health issues and due to her lifestyle choices is often ridiculed, pointed at and attacked when she goes out. She started to talk to me about this today, and is now starting to share how she feels and how people are with her. After speaking with her mental health team, this is a massive breakthrough.

Dinnington SEND Group

Laura/ / Good News Stories

By Ian Huddleston, Community Organiser

Dinnington SEND group are a group for young people who are very active in the community, providing support for many families in and around Dinnington. I met with Jo from the group in early March to look at ways in which we could work together and to try organising events for their young people.

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Ferham Community Group

Laura/ / Good News Stories

By Dan Barron, Community Organiser

Since May, I had been supporting Kadeer, who is a community leader from Ferham to engage with the community both physical and virtually. Initially, Kadeer was looking to create a constituted group. We were able to support Kadeer in understanding what was needed and searching for others who wanted to join over several weeks. This included several organisational structures as Kadeer’s daughter was also considering becoming a Community Interest Company. I was able to advise Kadeer about the current COVID guidelines regarding activities, when he was very actively coordinating litter picks within the area.

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A Reason to Like Mondays Group

Laura/ / Good News Stories

By Dan Barron, Community Organiser

I have been lucky enough to be able to support the A Reason to Like Mondays (ARTLM) throughout the pandemic with several activities. The group are based in East Dene, St James Church room and they offer help, support and advice to parents and full-time carers of children pre-birth to 18. The group offer somewhere for people to go once their children are at school or if they are a full-time mum. St James Church offers a place where they can relax, have a chat or even a rant about what is going on in their life. Since COVID19 restrictions were implemented in May, the group have consistently provided a virtual coffee morning, which have totalled 21 sessions to date. The group have adapted to the pandemic and continued to engage with their group members via online coffee mornings. The virtual coffee morning is averagely attended by 3-5 members every Monday morning via zoom and the online Facebook page has 65 members who it is supporting.

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