We were delighted to receive a grant of £16,054 from the People’s Postcode Trust during 2023-2024.
The funding enabled us to support 20 children aged between 5 and 16 years who had been referred to us. The children were living in complicated home lives, and a large percentage struggled with social isolation and lived in poverty.
Many of the children lacked social skills and some children who were unaware of appropriate behaviours in certain circumstances. Because of this, they were excluded from their peers and lacked the opportunity to do various weekend activities or hobbies due to their family’s personal and financial situations. Eventually their peers showed little interest in them, which led to social isolation, low self-confidence, low self-esteem and poor child mental health amongst other issues.
Our project enabled the child to be matched in a 1:1 befriending relationship with a trusted and reliable befriender. With their befriender’s encouragement and motivation, the child was able to enjoy activities and experiences that would not normally be accessible to them.
As each child’s confidence and self-esteem grew with the support of their befriender, it created a positive impact with family life, friends and school while also creating special childhood memories.
Our Befriending Manager, who managed the project, provided the volunteers with regular on-going support and guidance throughout their befriending journey.
We also arranged regular informal group training sessions, including “Teenager” training, “Trauma Informed” training, and a Mental Health Awareness session.
The Manager also worked closely with all cases, ensured each child was given the right support, regularly connecting with their family as this not only provided feedback about the young person’s progression, but also offered further support to the family if required.
“Our Community Befriending Project has transformed the lives of local children and young people who face living in extremely challenging home circumstances daily. With the help of our wonderful Befriending Volunteers, children and young people have experienced so many new experiences that were previously unavailable to them, most of the experiences are things that many children take for granted. Our Volunteers are caring, nurturing and are very committed to making the life of the child they are matched with a better place. They are a reliable role model and a listening ear, quite often the only confidante that the child may have.
They have helped the children and young people learn what it is like to have this special relationship and the child’s self-confidence and self-esteem has increased. The outings themselves are whatever the child and volunteer want to do and in many cases, it will be an activity or experience that the child has never had. Their social skills improve, and they feel more included in their peer group as they can join in conversations about what they have done at the weekend for example.
Quite often these relationships continue for many years and with the support of their befriender the children and young people have a much happier childhood and have many happy childhood memories.”
Nicola Milne, Befriend a Child’s Befriending Manager
A huge thank you to the People’s Postcode Trust for supporting our project.
This kind of funding directly supports children and young people living in our local community by reducing the impact of poverty in their daily lives.
