Ashford - Volunteer Centre Befriending Service

Please ring 01233 665535.

Our service provides a regular visitor to help relieve social isolation and reduce loneliness by providing the company of a volunteer befriender who will visit on a weekly basis for a chat and a cup of tea, maybe play a board game or go for a walk. Volunteers DO NOT carry out personal care, shopping, household chores or a sitting service.  

The service is for older persons who live in their own homes, who for various reasons find themselves housebound with a few or no visitors, and covers Ashford Town and rural areas of the borough north of Hamstreet. 

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As the service is in demand, the following criteria are applied to ensure resources are provided to those most in need, and priority is given to referrals of people who:

  • Are over 50 years of age
  • Are housebound
  • Live alone
  • Do not receive regular visits from family or relatives
  • Not in residential, nursing care or sheltered accommodation
  • Have no history of violence/abusive behaviour