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I have known Peter for a couple of years now as her originally wanted to volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Society, but he found the training to be too daunting and he dropped out. Peter is a highly intelligent man that used to be a chemical engineer for TATA steel. He started to develop mental health issues, ODC and other problems and had to give up his job. He is an avid painter. He lost all of his confidence and was worried when he approached me again as a volunteer. After offering him reassurance that the training and induction was a lot easier than previously – he decided to give the friendship call volunteer role a go with a lot of support from me. He was extremely nervous to make his first calls, so we allocated Peter people that we thought he would find easy to communicate with. After his first calls, he rang me and was so proud of what he had achieved, he couldn’t stop saying what it meant to him to be able to give something to people and that he had an enjoyed it more than he expected. He immediately build a rapport with one of his service users, so much so that after a follow up with her, she has asked if he could continue calling her as she found him to be such a lovely person ‘he feels like an angel to me, and I am sure if I met him, he would be wearing a halo’ I reported back to Peter what had been said, and he was so happy so say that he would be very willing to continue calling this lady and they are now building a great relationship and Peter’s confidence is growing from strength to strength.

Peter Smith is a 106-year-old resident. I have been calling since the beginning of lockdown and have recently passed the call onto our volunteers. I rung Peter again this week to check in with him and to see how is coming along.

When I first spoke to Peter. He was getting food parcels each week and suffered with his vision, so he was quite nervous and unsure and very isolated. We hit it off straight away and Peter warmed to the fact that not only we were thinking of him, but also that we were there to chat and help.

Peter doesn’t have any family around. He was married, and once had children which he tragically lost in the air raids in Portsmouth in the war, but having spoken at length with him about having people around him, he is happy that he has numerous friends he can call on, like his 100 year old friend.

Peter comes from a musical family; whose Mother was a singer who toured America. This is something he picked up as a young man and played guitar until an accident forced him to retire and he eventually took up the harmonica. Each time I phone he will play me some harmonica down the phone from his favourite artist Larry Hadler. The music was a theme we had across all our calls, and Peter’s mood really picked up when we were on the topic of music.

Peter was even so good to give me some tips on my garden, and how best to grow potatoes. Peter really enjoys being able to speak to someone about common interests, something which he has not had in a long while. This has been a common theme of conversation and we have really bonded over our love of gardens and speaking about this has rekindled Peter’s Joy of gardening and has taken steps to get back into the garden and do things he hasn’t done in a long while.

Over the weeks we have built up a fond relationship and I can see that he has improved in himself because of this. He is now able to get out and about on his new scooter a bit and has started painting (something he hasn’t done for a long time) and has come a long way since the start of lockdown, with the friendship calls playing a major part in that.

Peter is now speaking with our volunteers and I am keeping in touch with him once per month to offer that support so we can keep that trusted relationship, and with our volunteers so he has a variety of people to speak to.

Neil came through to RotherFed as a potential service user from Social Prescribing. Neil lives with severe Borderline Personality Disorder and OCD and lives on his own with no family support. An initial conversation was held with Neil to explain the service to him. He was amiable and spoke a lot about his interests in Japanese culture and fast cars, I built a fantastic rapport with him and he opened up about the distrust that he has in people and the feeling that no one listens to him or understands him. I made arrangements to call him again the following week, and he was so happy to receive my call, he said it was a pleasure being able to talk to someone who just listens or who speaks about the things that interest him. Neil was very down at the beginning of the call and after 45 minutes he had cheered up tremendously and I was privileged to be named as his friend and he also stated that this is something that he thought would never happen to him, to have a friendly chat with someone who does not judge him, or try to change him, but someone who just lets him be ‘normal’ for a change.

Joyce’s granddaughter had arranged for friendship calls as she was worried her Nan was not getting enough stimulation. Joyce is 93 years old and lives alone, prior to lockdown she would get on the bus most days. Although Joyce did agree to the friendship calls, when I spoke to her granddaughter prior to ringing Joyce, she did say that her Nan is very independent and will either embrace the call or not want to speak to me as she is not a person for talking to strangers.

Joyce certainly embraced our call. We spent nearly 50 minutes chatting, Joyce told me all about her life and family and she also asked about mine. Following this call, I rang her granddaughter to let her know how it went and she was delighted that her Nan was willing to talk to me and that we had spoken for so long.

Since that day I have spoken to Joyce every week, sometimes twice a week, we always have a lovely chat and spend about an hour on the phone, we could talk for much longer too. Joyce really looks forwards to my calls, our chat is always very general, and Joyce is always very positive and never complains. I also enjoy chatting to Joyce, she is a remarkable woman.  I have spoken to her granddaughter a couple of times since the referral and she told me that her Nan talks about me, about how lovely I am and how she looks forward to my weekly call, which is lovely to hear.

I think Joyce is a great example of a pure friendship call and how well these can work and the benefit they can have. My calls to Joyce are really making a difference.

Donna joined RotherFed back during the first lockdown. Donna comes from a very experienced background and has a wealth of knowledge. My relationship started with Donna in August when I first started with RotherFed and upon her first call allocated by me, it turned into a safeguarding case. Donna contacted me and I responded immediately and took the matter forward. Donna is a very astute volunteer and with her experience goes over and above what she needs to do as a friendship volunteer. She will always report back to me should she have any concerns, and my response has always been immediate. We have built up a good relationship over these last 3 months so much so that Donna now will always take on as many calls as we are willing to give her and will follow up with me weekly on any concerns. Donna informed me that she cherishes working with me as she feels really supported as a volunteer and feels that should she have any concerns, they will always be dealt with and this has also resulted in Donna being very willing to take on more complex calls as she feels that the support will always be there when and if needed. Donna will be rewarded for the work that she is doing due to her continued commitment to those that she calls.

David is a resident I’ve been calling since the beginning of lockdown and have recently passed onto our volunteers. I rung David on Monday of this week to check in with him and see how he is coming along.

When I first spoke to David. He was getting food parcels each week and suffered with his vision, so he was quite nervous, unsure and very isolated. We hit it off straight away and David warmed to the fact that not only we thinking of him, but also that we were there to chat and help.

Over the weeks we have built up a fond relationship and I can see that he has improved in himself because of this. He is now able to get out and about on his scooter a bit and has started painting—something he hasn’t done in a long time—and has come a long way since the start of lockdown, with the friendship calls playing a major part in that.

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.

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.