Clarissa lives on her own, she used to be a nurse before she became a full-time carer to her severely disabled daughter. In recent years she has suffered with a number of bereavements, including the daughter that she cared for and her son. Her only remaining child also has disabilities and needs constant assistance.
Clarissa has previously volunteered as support for people whose children were also disabled and did a lot of work advocating for disabled people’s rights. She has found it hard to accept help, as she has always been independent and the one to help others, she is not used to receiving assistance. However, the befriending phone calls have helped her with her loneliness and the fact that there is someone who rings on a regular basis helps alleviate her isolation.
She has been speaking to the same volunteer for over 6 months. They both have a love of crafts and genealogy. They regularly spend the entire phone call saying how they could put the world right. The conversations that Clarissa and her volunteer have vary each week covering everything from the war in Ukraine and gardening to aliens and conspiracy theories. Both Clarissa and her volunteer benefit from the calls as they both enjoy the wide range of topics covered and feel like they learn something new from each other.
“The befriending calls are something I look forward to immensely, we talk about all sorts and I feel we can put the world to rights”