Headway North London

The Befriending Project

Are you a brain injury survivor keen to get back into an activity or try something new?

People with an acquired brain injury often feel isolated and left behind by old friends and colleagues. Befriending aims to build a new relationship that can help you to feel more independent and to increase your confidence and self esteem. You can get involved in the community again by taking part in everyday social activities.

The Befriending Service matches trained volunteers ('befrienders') with adults who have had a brain injury (a 'befriendee'). The aim is to help brain injury survivors pursue interests and enjoy a social life away from their homes and families, within the wider community.

Who can take part?

Adults who have suffered a brain injury that was sudden in onset and occurred after birth can participate in the scheme. This includes traumatic and acquired brain injuries, such as strokes, infections and a lack of oxygen to the brain. If you have challenging behaviour that might be a risk to others or yourself it may be decided that the service is not right for you, but we will discuss this with you and look for an alternative service that is better suited to your needs.

How does it all work?

If you decide you would like to have a volunteer befriender, get in touch with HWNL
The Service Co-ordinator will arrange to meet with you to find out more about your interests and the types of people you get on well with
HWNL will find a volunteer who they think will be a good match for you
You will receive some information about the volunteer and they will hear a little more about you. If you both wish to go ahead, the Service Co-ordinator will arrange for you to meet
The Service Co-ordinator will come along to the first meeting and afterwards both you and your potential 'befriender' will have time to think about whether you wish to go ahead with the match
If you decide that you don't want to go ahead, we'll talk to you about your reasons and look at matching you with another volunteer
If you decide you do want to go ahead, you and your befriender will decide on a time and place for your first meeting

How often will we meet?

Befriendees usually meet their befriender for 2 to 3 hours every couple of weeks, but this will be decided by both of you during the match meeting.

What will we do together?

It is really important that you take part in activities that you enjoy and are interested in. When you first meet your 'befriender', the Service Coordinator will chat to you about the activities that you can be involved in and the three of you will agree on some things to try. The activity could be anything from going for a coffee together or walking in the park, to visiting a gallery or perhaps taking part in a community class. Meetings can be free depending on the activity you choose and HWNL will cover your volunteer's expenses up to £7.50 per session.

How long will the match last?

It is recommended that each match meets for a maximum of twelve months. After this time we will look at whether it is beneficial for you to be matched with someone else so you can widen your social contacts. If we think it would actually be more beneficial for you to continue with your befriender, we will look at extending the length of your match. Each match is looked at on an individual basis.

How soon can a match happen?

We want to find the best possible match for you so that you can benefit as much as possible from participating in the scheme. It may take a bit of time to find the right match, so we would be very grateful for your patience.

Some things to remember...

It is important to remember that a befriending relationship is different from a typical friendship. With this in mind, please also remember:

A volunteer befriender is unable to visit you at your home at any point during your match
The Befriending Service is NOT a dating service
It is not the role of volunteer befrienders to assist with domestic chores or shopping for grocery or household items