Addressing loneliness in Powys: Mental Health Awareness Week 2022

Earlier this week, to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week, we posted about a number of new community initiatives which have recently been set up in Powys to address loneliness and isolation following the launch of the Connected Communities: Loneliness & Isolation Fund 2022 - 24.

Today we look at two more amazing projects which have both been running for several years now in Powys to support people to access services that are "right for them, which improve their independence and help maintain social networks". So often this means people have the chance to be out and about meeting others, making new friendships and revitalising old ones.

Before we dive into the detail, just a reminder about The Mental Health Foundation, the charity which has hosted the annual Mental Health Awareness Week since 2000. The Foundation explains why Loneliness is this year's chosen theme:

"The Foundation’s Mental Health in the Pandemic research has found that loneliness has been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic. The Foundation has been tracking loneliness levels in the UK during the pandemic and found the experience has been much higher with devastating impact. Loneliness has been an important factor contributing to higher levels of distress, resulting from people’s sense of isolation and reduced ability to connect with others. Further polling also found that loneliness was one of the leading issues that the public felt needed to be addressed."

So in this, the second of our MHAW 2022 week blog posts, we focus on two key services provided by Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations, both of which contribute hugely to addressing the issues of isolation and / or loneliness in the county. These services have played a vital role in supporting people throughout Powys who have struggled through the past two years of Covid lockdowns and beyond.

They are the Community Connectors and Powys Befriending Services.

Community Connector Claire Powell (bottom row, 2nd L)
& partners on the Newtown locality network

Sharon Healey, Senior Officer Community Connectors and Powys Befriending Services at PAVO, tells us more about the work of these two invaluable services, and the impact their work is having on individuals in the county who may be living with challenging mental and / or physical health conditions whilst at the same time also struggling to overcome loneliness and / or isolation.

Community Connectors Service

The Community Connector Service operates across Powys, with 13 Community Connectors based in Localities taking referrals for a wide range of issues – community activities, transport, benefits, housing, health conditions, wellbeing, loneliness and much more.

The Community Connectors can support clients to access the right local support and information. The service helps people in Powys, aged 18 years+ and their families or Carers, to access community level services and activities that will help them maintain independent lives and which will help prevent their circumstances deteriorating to a point where they might need higher level health or social care services.

Community Connectors can also support people when they return home from hospital by helping other voluntary sector services, such as the Red Cross, identify local services that may be needed. This could include occupational therapy, home adaptations, community transport, specific health related issues including dementia, medication/shopping collection or sourcing cleaning and overcoming loneliness and isolation.

During 2021/22 the top presenting issues into the CC service have been Social Isolation and Loneliness. We have supported over 510 individuals presenting with this issue, finding support and signposting them to befriending services, local groups of interest, looking at individuals' circle of support, online social groups, local social groups, etc.

Community Connector Lynda Rogers (far right) supporting Powys Pride

Feedback

“I don't know how I would have got through the last few months without the CCs and everything they had helped find out, put in place and have advised me on.”

G is an 80 year old man who by his own admission used to be a workaholic, spending as much time as he could on his farm in the work he loved. However as he got older this became physically more difficult and after he and his son employed a farm worker to help them out with the business he found he spent most days at home, alone. He hadn’t developed any interests due to his work commitments and felt anxious to leave the house.

G was being supported by farming charities Tir Dewi and the DPJ Foundation. The volunteer with the DPJ Foundation had been supporting G for 6 weeks and their support was coming to an end but G felt that he had enjoyed the volunteer’s visits so much he would like something similar to continue. He was referred into the Community Connectors' Service.

Community Connectors spreading the word out in the local community

His local Connector talked to him about befriending. He liked the sound of this and would like face to face visits. He said that with the support of a volunteer, who he had learned to trust, he would consider going out to meet other people at local group activities.

The Connector contacted the main Befriending providers and found that Age Cymru Powys had a volunteer who might be suitable for G. With G’s consent, he was referred into the Community Helpers’ scheme at Age Cymru Powys and was matched with a local male volunteer later that afternoon. Age Cymru Powys will also be offering him their Mamwlad support.

Powys Befriending Service

PBS - Powys Befriending Service is a project run by PAVO - Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations. The service supports people over the age of 50 living in Powys, to help maintain their independence, build confidence, develop their social network and reconnect with activities in the community or with a friendly cuppa and chat in their own home. The service supports people who have become lonely or socially isolated because of ill health, bereavement, disability, life changes or social disadvantage by arranging a supportive, reliable relationship with a Powys Befriender.

The service offers telephone befriending, 1:1 befriending in the client's own home or in the community, digital online groups and befriending groups in communities and letter or email befriending. Befriending is a process of bringing two or more people together with the aim of establishing an informal social arrangement. Befriending support can lower rates of depression, improve social skills, reduce isolation, improve self-management, improve self-esteem and confidence, reduce vulnerability and risk of abuse, build a sense of purpose and see a reduce in use of emergency services.

Sharon Healey (top right), Senior Officer Community Connectors & Powys Befriending Services

at PAVO joins a Powys Befriending board games session

Powys Befrienders supports clients to access social, leisure, educational or other needs and promotes personal choice, increased self-respect, supporting existing social skills and development of new opportunities. They can visit the client in their own homes or in the community to provide companionship and support. Telephone befrienders have light, meaningful conversations with their client, providing distraction from negative situations or circumstances.

As of the end of March 2022 the service supports over 420 clients through the activities offered. Due to the Covid pandemic the service had to amend its offers due to clients isolating and therefore with the huge increase in demand for support telephone and online support was developed.

Powys Befriending Service is part of a much wider team within PAVO and the wider Third Sector and any additional support required by clients can be sourced via the PAVO Community Connector Service.

Natalie Philbin-Carr (2nd from left), PBS Outreach Officer North Powys
 at a Powys Befriending session lunch

Feedback

Joyce Bettley is enjoying her calls immensely. "I look forward to the calls so much and my Volunteer ** is smashing. We talk about food, recipes, cooking, jam and everything else. It's absolutely lovely. I was reluctant at first but Natalie persuaded me to give it a try and it's the best thing I've done!”

“There is no question that the Befriending Service has been a lifeline for me at a difficult time. I can recommend it to anybody.”

Coffee & Chat Group, Newtown

Jenny Jones - “It was lovely, just to get out and meet people and so spacious, good coffee too!”

A client reported how pleased she is with her Telephone Befriender and that ‘he has made the world of difference to me’. She explained that she really looks forward to his calls and feels pleased that she has been able to help her Volunteer overcome his initial shyness and lack of confidence when talking over the telephone. She said that she is a natural conversationalist and their relationship has become mutually beneficial.

A PBS social event

And finally

If you know anyone struggling with loneliness in Powys, then let them know about services and projects that are available in the county to provide support. 

Community Connectors - contact details

Call our Duty Officer, Community Connector Service on 01597 828649 10am - 4pm Monday to Friday or email community.connectors@pavo.org.uk 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday.

Powys Befrienders' Service - contact details

Call 01597 822191 for an informal chat or email pbs@pavo.org.uk 9am - 5pm Monday - Friday.

Powys Befrienders – Men’s Club Welshpool

Natalie Philbin-Carr is a Powys Befriending Service Outreach Officer at Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (read Powys Befrienders – it’s given me back my life for more on this PAVO project generally).

We chatted recently about the project’s popular fortnightly Men’s Club in Welshpool, North Powys.

First tell us more about your role as a Powys Befriending Service Outreach Officer

My aim is to provide befriending support to people aged 50+ in Powys to help them maintain their independence and social networks and to live in their homes for as long as they are able. This is done through recruiting and training volunteers who will then either visit the clients in their own home for a cup of tea and a chat or through groups run by the volunteers to enable clients to get out in the community. The befrienders will help to promote personal choice, aim to increase self–respect, support existing personal skills and the development of new opportunities.

Why was the Men’s Club Welshpool set up?

There were a number of men we were in contact with who felt that lunches and afternoon teas weren’t for them. They wanted something in a ‘male environment’. Several of them identified that they liked playing board games and cards and so we gave it a try.

What happens at the Men’s Club, when does it take place, and who can go along?

The men all meet together at The Smithfield Bell in Welshpool every other Monday. They have their own table at the back of the pub where they have a selection of games they can play. The gentleman will get themselves a drink (usually coffee or a soft drink) and then sit and chat for a few minutes while getting everything together. They meet at 12pm and are finished for 2pm. The next meeting is on 8th July and then again on 22nd July. Anyone can go along and join in, it’s a lovely relaxed atmosphere.

Why do the men like to attend the group?

They like to enjoy other male company and play games in peace. 😃

Is it important to provide a men-only group and if so why?

I feel it is because it was something that was specifically requested by the men themselves.

Are there Men’s Clubs in other parts of Powys?

There aren’t just yet that are Powys Befriender run groups, however there are a number of Men’s Sheds dotted about but these are more for practical DIY and gardening type activities rather than recreational.

We are hoping to be able to open another Men’s Group in Newtown next month, plans are currently underway to get it up and running.

How does attending the group impact on the men’s mental health / wellbeing?

It gives them something to look forward to and they are doing something they enjoy. Males generally are quite private about things, so it’s nice for them to have other males to chat to without feeling awkward about who may also be listening.

Some of the men who come along to the Club are also volunteers with the Powys Befriending Service. What kind of volunteering are they doing?

They are there to keep things together and to welcome new people along. If anyone has any questions about the group or the service then the volunteers are on hand to answer anything or if they need anything further, the volunteers can just call in to me for further support. They will set the games up and clear things away at the end. A couple of our volunteers are also drivers so help picking up and dropping off clients when they can.

What are the main challenges of providing Befriending Services specifically for men in Powys?

Finding enough men in the same area to make the provision viable and getting transport to get those who need it to the venues.

Tell us about some of the most rewarding work you have done in the Powys Befriending team

When I first started out with the Befriending Team, I took over an area where the groups had dispersed over the previous months. The first lunch club I arranged, only one person turned up to it, and that was a volunteer. 

Gradually, with a bit of hard work, promotion and word of mouth, the group started to grow and just before I left the area, we were getting around 22 - 24 people coming out for the lunch groups. Seeing everyone get together, smiling and laughing and having a good chat while eating a lovely meal, is such a satisfying thing to watch. Knowing you have made someone happy by giving them an opportunity to get out and socialise is priceless, especially when they tell you they may not have done anything else or seen anyone else that week.

When you’re not working how do you enjoy spending your time?

I love camping! Every year my partner and I, and our 2 boys aged 2 and 13, go camping for a few weeks with our dog Herbie. Last year was Cornwall and this year is Tenby! 

While I’m at home I absolutely love cooking and baking. I regularly have friends visiting from where I used to live, so this gives me the perfect opportunity to cook up a big feast where we then all sit round the dining table and catch up! Having lots of chickens and new born chicks at home also takes up a lot of my time but I wouldn’t change any of it! I love having a day off, but it’s very rare I get to relax!

Big thanks to Natalie for telling us all about the Men's Club in Newtown and we look forward to hearing when the Newtown Men's Club opens for business! 

To find out more about the Men's Club, or any of the other Powys Befrienders' activities, you can email Natalie - natalie.philbin-carr@pavo.org.uk or ring 01597 822191.

Powys Befrienders - knitting for wellbeing

When I have time, especially in the winter, I like to knit and listen to the radio. I find it very therapeutic. Its rhythmic and repetitive nature has often been compared to meditation. Many of my office colleagues knit too, and we love to pass on tips about our favourite yarns and patterns. We might have a bonding moment or two comparing bamboo knitting needles and angora wools when the broadband dips out for a couple of minutes…

This Tuesday I was invited to meet another friendly group of knitters and crocheters at Abbeyfield House in Newtown for their regular fortnightly session. If you’re a knitting enthusiast, you’ve probably come across the Knit & Natter concept. This incarnation is the Newtown Knit Tea Together group set up by the Powys Befriending Service. (Read Powys Befrienders – it’s given me back my life for more on this PAVO project generally). It was snowing, so not all the regulars had been able to make it, but Eileen, Betty and Carol were joined by first-timer Olive for a chat, loads of laughs, and plenty of knitting, sewing and crocheting.

Olive works on a twiddle mitt

This week they were busy making twiddle mitts and cushions for people locally living with dementia. (Online pattern for knitters!) “People with dementia are always looking for things to touch,” they explained, “so we sew bells, beads, eyes and Velcro to the mitts, and people find them very therapeutic.” While I was there Lesley Austen, the Powys Befriending Services Co-ordinator, arrived to gather up mounds of the mitts to take to Bethshan Care Home, also in Newtown. Past group projects have included making baby blankets for local maternity services, and creating colourful knitted toys and clothes to raise funds for the group. At a market stall in Glanhafren, Newtown Market Hall, on 8 December, they raised £380 through sales, and are now planning a summer stall.

While the women sit and sew they swop tips, plan trips – including activities and shopping – and update each other about the latest local news stories. They happily share their skills, and experience. Carol promises to teach Olive how to crochet the next time they meet. There’s a haberdashery moment and in five minutes Eileen’s volunteering to shop at her favourite supplier for all the others. And who would have known that the best and cheapest way to stuff a knitted doll is to pull a pillow apart for the filling? 

L-R: Lesley (Powys Befriending Service Co-ordinator), Olive & Eileen
"Tell me again, what's a split stitch in knitting...?"

Why we like to knit and crochet

"It relaxes you. It keeps your hands moving. It you have arthritis it helps to keep them moving. You have to keep active."

"It keeps your brain moving too! If you’ve got one! It helps keep your mind off a lot of problems. You can take it out in your knitting. You go faster if you’re in a bad mood!"

Several members of the Newtown Knit Tea Together group are also active Powys Befriending Service volunteers in their local community. The two volunteers present tell me about the clients they support. One is a gentleman with Parkinson’s disease who is visited at home, and another is a lady who is supported to attend afternoon teas at the Smithfield Bell in Welshpool, or the Lakeside Restaurant at the golf course near Montgomery.

Carol does crochet... and is also a PB volunteer

Later Lesley told me more about Eileen’s contribution as a Powys Befriending Service volunteer:

Eileen’s husband died after a prolonged illness and was bedridden for the last 6 months of his life. He did not want to be in hospital so Eileen had cared for him at home supported by Health and Social Services. For over a year she had rarely left the house and had lost a lot of confidence about going out on her own as well as suffering from grief and loneliness. Her daughter referred her to the Powys Befriending Service and accompanied her to one of our group lunches.

Eileen was very chatty and helped people sitting around her. At the end of the session, when I asked how she had got on, she said she loved it: “But I’m so much better off than some of the others, wouldn’t I be of more use helping them?”

Eileen duly attended the Befriending Induction training, got her DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) approval and two glowing references and asked “When do I start?” She didn’t want to have to drive too far, so I matched her to a housebound gentleman with early stage dementia and other health needs who lived a few miles away. As we approached the gentleman’s house she told me she and her husband used to walk in the area and used to chat to a lovely man tending his garden – and this was the gentleman she was getting matched to!

Both he and his wife recognised Eileen and were delighted to see a familiar face. The client has memory loss and several health conditions requiring appointments and visits, so we agreed Eileen would visit every two weeks. The match is a great success – both client and volunteer share a farming background and enjoy talking about farming and the local countryside, reading the local paper and following sports events on TV. 

The client’s wife now has a regular couple of undisturbed hours when she can do things that she enjoys, getting out in the garden, baking and having a chat on the phone with friends, which she had not previously been able to do easily, having to keep an ear and eye out for her husband’s needs.

This still left Eileen with time on her hands and a will to help people, so she asked if it would be possible to have another client to see on alternate weeks and is now also matched with a lady who had no means of getting out and about. She takes this lady to an afternoon tea group, and is now supporting the group by helping with clients.

Eileen then asked if she could come along to the Newtown Knit Tea Together group as she loves knitting and sewing, and after a few sessions she and another volunteer were quite happy to run the group themselves with me in the background for occasional support. Lots of our female clients list amongst their interests knitting, crochet and sewing, but no longer have anyone to make things for. Eileen soon armed them with patterns, needles and wool and got them making baby clothes in premature sizes, which we now send in regular parcels to Special Care Baby Units in Welsh Hospitals.

Oh did I mention…………… Eileen is 86 years young!

Eileen told me “I get as much out of being a volunteer as the people we help. It’s been a lifeline to me since I lost my husband.”

Betty with one of her knitted dolls

If you would like to join the Newtown Knit Tea Together group run by the Powys Befriending Service (don’t worry if you can’t knit, sew or crochet – there are plenty who will happily teach you) then give Lesley a call to find out more on 01597 822191 or email: lesley.austen@pavo.org.uk

Are you a knitter or crocheter? Does it help boost your emotional wellbeing? Let us know in the comments box below.

When I grow up

by Suzanne Iuppa, Community Connector — Llanidloes (2nd from left)*

I grow old … I grow old … 

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. 

Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? 

I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, by T.S. Eliot

    

What do you want your older age to feel like, sound like, look like?

I’ve spent much time thinking about this on my long drives working around the very beautiful countryside of Powys. I’ve worked for Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO) now for six months as a Community Connector, linking older people in the county with services to improve their health and wellbeing. 

I moved here from Flintshire in September 2016, where I lived for 25 years and raised all three of my children as a single mother. My boys now live in the four corners of the planet and we joke (well, it is my favourite fantasy) that when I get older I will wing in with my Mary Poppins umbrella, all sprightly and fun, right when my beloved daughters-in-law can’t face another meal prep or load of washing, to look after my many grandchildren in turn, in different countries. My loving offspring will have a very small but beautiful granny flat in each of their houses for me to make magic in during my regular, seasonal visits. When I am not on Nainey duty I will be in my stunning but tiny (ie: low maintenance) cottage with the view at the edge of the Snowdonia National Park. I’ll have dinner parties, write stories, make crafts, feed the birds, and still make the long walks to the pub or garden centre. Or perhaps even take my trusty bike. I’ll thrive. I’ll be happy.

That’s if: if in future I’ll be able to travel easily to see my family, if I develop no long-term health conditions which sap my energy, if my children do indeed have children, and if my daughters-in-law will want my help on a regular basis.

I’m good at being flexible, but, with my family living at a distance and most of my friends being a good ten or fifteen years older than me (I was a young Mum, and my friends and I raised our children together) chances are, if my fantasy does not play out, my older age could be at risk of feeling lonely. In Powys there are plenty of places like my village, small tight-knit rural communities where children are living at a distance from parents and many people are of an aging population, all developing complex health problems as their age advances, in tandem. We might all want to be social! But for one reason or other, it may be hard to do. 

I help many people in Powys whose friends are not able to assist and whose family are not present, by linking them to befriending groups or ‘good neighbour’ schemes. It’s very important these schemes are well supported with funding and volunteers. Because — loneliness is not a condition we want to allow in our communities. The Older People's Commissioner for Wales, Sarah Rochira says: "Loneliness is a major Public Health problem here in Wales. We can all help — one day it could be us."

Loneliness has an effect on mortality that is similar to that of cigarette smoking. It is associated with poor mental health and conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension and dementia.

Loneliness has a much wider Public Health impact too: it is associated with a number of negative health outcomes including mortality, morbidity, depression and suicide, as well as increased health service use.

Most of my work is centered around helping people feel listened to, and responding to people’s individual needs, particularly older people living with a sensory loss, cognitive impairment or dementia, those who are carers or who have mobility issues. It seems in Powys these older people are most socially isolated. In addition, the people I have worked with have reported:

• Loss of trusted relationships.
• Loss of privacy and dignity.
• Being a full-time carer with little social mobility.
• Poor access to a car or public transport.
• Not being able to run a home by oneself anymore.

The answer is not the NHS to any of these problems; either primary or secondary care. But… quite often that is where lonely older people end up. If we think of primary healthcare, we can also think of primary health and social services for older people. These should be first in line for funding and support for to prevent hospitalisation. These are: appropriate housing (including residential and nursing care) day centres, personal care, befriending, community transport, practical services such as shopping, cleaning and gardening, and social links.

We need to listen better to older people’s life stories and their wishes to create an enabling environment for all, so we can work together to provide the primary social services. Understanding the sense of loss would be a start. Veronica Jarman, day hospital sister at Llanidloes Day Hospital and a Wales Nurse of the Year, explains: "It’s grief — loss of partner, social position, income, friends… the grief can be overwhelming."

Active and reflective listening are keys skills in grief therapy, and could be an early response to people asking for help with loneliness, before accessing NHS services at a crisis moment.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, for example, has emphasized the link between the ability to communicate clearly with an individual’s ability to make informed decisions, to access services, enjoy their rights and overall, the dignity and respect that they experience.

Of course the older people in our society have lived through unprecedented change. For all the developments in communications and technology, the needs at the start and end of life are still best met through personal interactions. 

Our society is ageist — the only people really admired and in the driving seat in our society are from age 25 — 60 years. Like puberty, older age is a time of radical transformation for many; complete change. Whereas in previous societies elders had specific roles as guides, healers, mediators, correspondents, even dispute resolution specialists, because their amassed life experience was held in great esteem, now we tend to disrobe older people of roles and responsibility, in our families and in society generally. I’ve no doubt this disengagement has an effect on cognitive function. What would happen if we were able to advertise for older people to fill specialist roles in our community — designers, garden and horticulture, childcare, farming practices with wildlife conservation, flood prevention, town planning, holistic healing, dance events, history projects, clothes manufacture, community transport, language classes? What if people 65 years+ were the only ones to fit the bill, because of their wealth of experience, their time and their care?

Perhaps the Nainey duties and the dinner parties could keep me at the top of my game, for longer. I’m joining some craft guilds just in case — oh and my local town choir! I’ve even started an online course in herbal medicine. Still, I wonder if my daughters-in-law will be able to recommend a really good hairdresser in each country? I hope so!

To contact Suzanne for further information about her work as a Community Connector, please email suzanne.iuppa@pavo.org.uk or ring 01597 828649.

* The photograph also features (L-R) Carla Rosenthal — Community Connector in Knighton, and Melissa Townsend — Volunteer Officer PAVO.

Powys Befrienders - it’s given me back my life!

“Individuals who are socially isolated are between two and five times more likely than those who have strong social links to die prematurely.” 

Michael Marmot (2010) – Fair Society, Healthy Lives.

Last year we heard from the then Project Co-ordinator, Rachael Beech, about this really successful lottery funded befriending project. She told us it is "so much more than a cuppa and a chat".

Rachael has recently moved on to work with Action for Hearing Loss in Powys, and Befrienders’ colleague Jill Ball has taken over the reins, in this, the fifth year of the project. It seemed like a good time to catch up with progress, particularly as the service has developed to meet the changing needs of clients. As well as 1:1 support Powys Befrienders now holds regular group meetings and occasional days out.

First of all Jill gives us some of the project basics:

Powys Befrienders is a five year Big Lottery funded project delivered by Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO). The service currently provides a 1:1 and Group Befriending service Powys–wide, delivered by volunteers and paid staff to people over the age of 50. The aim is to support them to maintain and improve their independence and wellbeing. The service is quality assured having met the Quality in Befriending (QIB) quality standards in all 9 areas – it is the first befriending project in Wales to have achieved this prestigious quality assurance standard.

Powys Befrienders’ interventions produce measurable improvements, evidenced by ‘Outcome Star’ data, in the following areas:-

• Optimising independence.
• Maximising wellbeing through choice and control.
• Focusing on prevention.

The service has Outreach Officers across the county who liaise with other health professionals to deliver the Befriending Groups and 1:1 opportunities. The criteria for becoming a client of the befriending service are:

You live in Powys, you are over the age of 50 and that you are isolated or lonely. People can self-refer into the service or be referred by a friend, family member or health professional.

Trained volunteers who also have a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check are matched to clients and do a whole variety of activities with them. The activity is dictated by the client and some examples are swimming, singing, playing dominos, chess, shopping, walking, going to the theatre, lunch out, and dog walking.

The Group Facilitator for North Powys – Lesley Austen, tells us how the project has evolved:

Well, the project has evolved in the North in quite a haphazard way really! We seemed to have either clients in an area or volunteers - never both in the same place to make one-to-one matches.

The groups mostly started quite small, bringing together sometimes just 2 or 3 people (and occasionally just me and a client!) in a mutually convenient place - usually a cafe (saving the cost of venues and I don't have to make the tea!). Plus there is the added benefit of the opportunity to bump into old friends and neighbours.

They are all informal social groups, dotted around North Powys to suit people's needs, meeting for teas, coffees, lunches and occasional days out. Nobody is restricted to a particular group just because they live in the area, many attend 2 or 3 groups and a few attend everything that's going on! We help with transport as much as we can and would love more volunteer drivers who could help us out with this (hint hint!).

Currently there are two weekly lunch clubs, one in Newtown and one in Llandrinio, and a peripatetic lunch "club" that eats its way round Powys 2 or 3 times a month at various pubs and restaurants. Coffee / tea groups are held in Newtown, Guilsfield, Llansantffraid, Llanfyllin and Llanfair Caereinion monthly or twice a month.

Anyone over 50 who is feeling the need for company and wants to get out and about is welcome and we have people of all abilities and disabilities attending our groups on a regular basis. Some come every week, others we only see about once a month.

We also arrange occasional days out when people can try something a little different. One of our clients had been on a canal boat before so suggested it as a group activity. On 10 June we took to the waters of the beautiful Montgomery Canal with the Heulwen Trust (Heulwen is Welsh for sunshine). Robin, our boatman, piloted a fully accessible 70 foot narrow boat from the Trust’s base at Welshpool to Ardleen. We enjoyed a picnic lunch from a local café and a strawberry tea on our trip and everyone had a lovely day, including guide dog Quince and his owner Gwyn.

About Powys Befrienders' clients

M was widowed last year and was very lonely, with not many friends in the area - he is fit and active and has his own transport so is seen at almost all our activities. He has also met people from other clubs and groups and joins in with their activities too: "I've always got something to look forward to now, just a problem fitting it all in or deciding what to do next!"

D has complex health needs which have resulted in depression to the point she had not been out socially for over 6 years. At first very reluctant and reserved, she is now up for anything on offer, encouraging others to join in and despite her continuing health issues and poor mobility is no longer dependant on medication for depression: "Befrienders has given me back my life."

Many thanks to Jill and Lesley for updating us about this amazing project.

If you would like to become a volunteer for Powys Befrienders and could give up 2-3 hours per week please call 01597 822191 and ask for a member of the Befrienders’ team. Volunteers may do telephone befriending, visits to clients and group activities, or may just wish to transport clients to activities. Volunteers are refunded for any expenditure they incur.

If you wish to become a client of the service call the team now on 01597 822191.

Powys Befrienders - more than a cuppa and a chat

My colleague Rachael Beech has been working for the past 3½ years as the Powys Befrienders’ Project Co-ordinator at Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations. Powys Befrienders is a lottery funded project set up to improve the independence of people aged over 50.

We caught up with Rachael at her PAVO base at Ddole Road in Llandrindod Wells to find out more about the project.

What was the original idea behind the Befrienders Project?

Very simply to support people over the age of 50 to engage back into the community; to increase their independence and confidence, and stay in their own homes as long as possible. That includes people who are experiencing mental distress, bereavement or social inclusion – it could be anyone. The project runs across the whole of Powys. People are matched with volunteers for a period of 12 months with a view to them becoming more independent ultimately.

Who can ask for a befriender?

Basically anyone who is lonely and isolated and needs help to take that first step. The befriender supports that person to reach their goals, so although a cuppa and a chat are vitally important they need to identify that they need support in particular areas of their lives to increase their independence. People can self-refer or be referred by family, statutory or voluntary organisations.

People assume loneliness and isolation are the same and their definition can be very different to the reality of the situation. You can be completely isolated and in a housing estate surrounded by a thousand people, not necessarily out in the sticks. Being lonely is down to how people cope with day to day life. Someone with a carer twice a day or a member of a club could still feel lonely because they are not having meaningful interaction. That can cause a huge amount of loneliness, especially if they are not being listened to.

Tell us about the staff and volunteers working on the project and their different roles

I manage the project across the county working with 3 outreach officers and 2 delivery partners. We promote the project, identify clients and volunteers, and then match them. This includes setting up volunteer training, support and supervision. The outreach workers also make sure that both parties understand the principles and boundaries of the project. The client will understand that they have choice and control over the goals that are identified. Staff may also identify other client needs that can be met by other statutory or voluntary organisations. Even if clients come to us who don’t meet the project criteria we will still try and point them in the right direction.

We look at the skill set and interests of a volunteer when matching them with a client although it’s not always possible to get the ideal match because of the geographical nature of Powys. Then the volunteer will go in once a week for 2 – 3 hours to support the client with their goals.

How can your project volunteers support people to strengthen their social networks?

People who have lost confidence and independence find it very difficult to take that first step to interact with other people, to start a conversation, even to walk into a room. But if they have someone there to help it makes all the difference.

We have some severely mentally distressed clients who have been ostracised in their community because of certain character traits. They feel people don’t understand them and they feel completely and utterly alone. We go in, their goals are no different to other peoples, and we help them reintegrate.

What kind of goals are set?

Using the outcome star we look at particular areas of people’s lives. The client’s goal could be learning to walk again after a hip replacement operation. Or to access shopping and social activities. Or advocacy. Someone who is not able to leave their house may want to access the internet. People get their lives back. Ultimately some may go from being clients to being volunteers, which really helps with their confidence.

Some clients have terminal illnesses – the project aims to increase independence but also wellbeing. If befriending helps a person do things in their last year of life that they have previously been unable to do it meets the criteria.

I believe the staff provide support to people with severe mental distress?

Yes, often there is no other support – not a befriending, mentoring style of support. People can become aggravated, suspicious and wary of others and it is more difficult to support them back into the community. So, either we provided support, or people might spiral into a pit of despair. In some areas of the county we are now setting up groups to help support people.

We also have two delivery partners to help us in this area – Crickhowell Volunteer Bureau (Crickhowell & District only) and Healthy Friendships (which covers North Brecknock specifically for clients with mental health needs).

What do the volunteers in particular bring to the project?

They bring lived experience, flexibility, skills and knowledge… they increase the capacity of the team. In some cases they bring long-term friendship. Some volunteers and clients have developed a relationship that does continue after the more formal arrangement has come to an end.

Volunteers currently range in age from 45 – 89, but can anyone over the age of 18 can volunteer.

If the Befrienders project did not exist, what would happen to people who contact you in need of support?

If you have lost your independence and self-esteem you are at rock bottom. If you fall ill you don’t want to pick up the phone. You have no friends, you can’t ring family 200 miles away, so you let it continue and then you might end up hospitalised. If you don’t have good mental health it reflects on physical health and vice versa.

How does the work of Befrienders fit in with that of other voluntary sector groups

We work in partnership with Mind, Disability Powys, the British Red Cross, and Age Cymru, plus all organisations who have clients of 50 or over.

Tell us some of the hardest things about working on this project

Seeing some of our clients and where they are now and thinking how easy it would have been to prevent that with a kindly neighbour or family intervention.

And sourcing volunteers. So many organisations are looking for volunteers – we don’t get many youngsters, and the majority we get have been volunteering their whole lives. We’ve lost that generation who volunteer without even thinking.

Now tell us some of the nice things about working on the project

We know we can make a difference, even if it’s absolutely tiny. We are part of a much bigger chain that is health and social care but we can help people. People who had not been out of the house for 12 months and were completely reliant on others for shopping have, a year down the line, helped set up our first independent group. That’s brilliant.

Helping people gain more skills and confidence through volunteering is really good. When we talk about beneficiaries – our clients and volunteers are all beneficiaries.

Because of the way we have worked we have been able to demonstrate categorically that Powys Befrienders has a measured effect which means we have evidence to try and make this a long-term project.

What is the most valuable thing you have learnt since starting your role?

Looking at this project as a whole has made me think this type of care must be sustainable – we’ve got to help the community to help the community.

What do you like to do in your own time when you’re not working for PAVO? 

We’re 18 years into a building project, we bought a 9 foot by 9 foot stone chimney and have done all the work ourselves but we are nearly at the end! I also grow a lot of vegetables, I’ve created a whole new garden, I enjoy riding my horse, taking the dogs on long walks and popping down to Pembrokeshire where we have a caravan and swimming in the sea from February to November.

Many thanks to Rachael for telling us about Powys Befrienders. You can contact her by emailing rachael.beech@pavo.ork.uk or ringing 01597 822191.

UPDATE October 2015: Powys Befrienders is pleased to announce that it is the first befriending service in Wales to be awarded the Befriending Quality Mark. Read more here.