Yorkshire Coast Charities Seek Life Changing Volunteers

Tuesday, 9 May 2023 13:50

By Matthew Pells

Scarborough Whitby & Ryedale Mind and Carers Plus Yorkshire have come together to create two new projects to help combat loneliness and bring people together across Scarborough, Whitby and Filey.

As loneliness and isolation become two of the biggest public health concerns in England, two leading local charities have joined forces to tackle the issues.

The Campaign to End Loneliness found that almost half of adults had experienced loneliness and with research highlighting loneliness being as damaging to health as smoking, the need to bring people together to connect is more important than ever.

Funded by North Yorkshire Council, the new ‘Our Neighbourhood’ project will support people in Scarborough, aged 18 and over, with a network of activities and events run in partnership with CaVCA at ‘The Street’ alongside a befriending service and volunteer brokerage service for those wanting to volunteer but are unsure about the role they would like.

The befriending service will match volunteers with people of similar interests and the pair will spend time together to build a relationship, expand social networks and find activities they enjoy.

Funded by the Woodsmith Foundation, the ‘Not Just Me’ scheme will also be recruiting volunteer ‘Sidekicks’ to support people aged 65+ who are living with long term depression and anxiety in Whitby, Filey and Hunmanby. As with ‘Our neighbourhood,’ volunteers will be helping their match to socialise, providing a listening ear and encouragement to build confidence towards becoming a Sidekick themselves.

Sophie Hall, CEO of SWR Mind said

“We know there’s been a massive fall in volunteering post Covid, over a 50% drop between 2018 and 2023 and people have so many calls on their time and worries about cost of living. What we hope might tempt people is just how much you can get out of volunteering, both for yourself and for a person’s life who you can change for the better. When it comes to supporting someone who is isolated and lonely, the biggest impact comes through volunteer matches which are much less formal than having a support worker and it gives people the time and flexibility to build up meaningful relationships.”

All volunteers will undergo a basic training workshop and enhanced DBS check before starting a match and will have a range of opportunities for other training and volunteer get-togethers to meet up with others in similar roles.

The first training dates for Our Neighbourhood befriending volunteers are Monday 15th May 1.30-3.30pm and Wednesday 31st May, 6.00-8.30pm at The Street.

The next training sessions for Not Just Me Sidekick volunteers take place Monday 22nd May 10.30am-1.30pm at Filey Evron Centre and Thursday 25th May 10.00am-1.00pm at Whitby Library. There will also be an open drop in for people potentially interested in volunteering to come for a chat which is Thursday 18th May 2.00-4.00pm at The Street.

If you would be interested in joining the team for these two amazing services, you can fill in an expression of interest form at https://www.swrmind.org.uk/work-with-us/volunteer/ or call and leave your contact details on 01723 339838 and a coordinator will be in touch for a chat.