Young People's Befriending Project

A Befriender is thoughtfully matched to a young person and they meet once a fortnight and choose what they would like to do together. This can be anything from swimming to cycling, to crafting or comic book writing, to baking or BBQing, to rock painting or climbing. Time and time again, we see our matches making a real and lasting difference to the young person’s life.

We provide support to all of our matches. They are monitored regularly to allow everyone involved to talk about how it is working. We also bring all Befrienders, children and young people together as a group couple of times a year. These sessions are a great way for everyone to meet one another and to take part in a fun activity.

Become a Befriender:

Our Befrienders come from all walks of life and are caring and thoughtful people who are invested in building an intentional and trusting relationship with their young person. We are always looking for more volunteers to join our team.

For just a couple of hours a fortnight you could make a huge difference to the life of a young person.

Befrienders must be over 18 and we will provide you with training and ongoing support. Get in touch with us using the form at the bottom on the page to find out more.

Making a referral

If you are working with a vulnerable or isolated young person or a child going through a difficult time who could use some 1-1 support from a trained volunteer Befriender you can refer them to us. They must:

Be aged between 5 and 18
Live in Orkney
Be experiencing circumstances that are having a detrimental affect on their life and their ability to reach their full potential.

Our volunteer Befrienders offer support and encouragement by introducing new activities to build the young person’s confidence and self-esteem. They are unable to offer personal care in regard to toileting and medication etc.

Children and young people need to be referred to us. This is done by an agency like education, social work, health professional or by another charity organisation. You must also have the child or young person's and their parent, guardian's or carer's consent to make the referral.

To refer a child or young person, download and return our form.

Get in touch with us if you are a young person or parent or carer of a young person and would like more information about how to make a referral. Fill out the form at the bottom of this page or call 01856 872897 option 2 and we can talk you through the process.

Murray and Finn's Story

Finn* was becoming increasingly isolated from his peers. He was struggling to attend school and was spending most of his time indoors on his games console.

Find out more

Martha and Rosa's Story

Rosa* has quite a complex disability so we knew that she would need a special Befriender that could support her and enable her to join in safely with activities in the community.

Find out more

Lucy and Florence's Story

Florence* recently transitioned to secondary school but was becoming more and more isolated from her peers.

Find out more

FAQs

- What do matches do together?
  Each match is tailor-made and unique. This means that you choose the activities that you would like to do together from their shared interests. So that could be badminton, football, zumba, swimming, knitting, programming, visits to cafes, the cinema, the beach, anything really. If we can check it to make sure it’s safe, then you can probably do it.
- How do you choose Befrienders?
- How long does a match last for?
- Is there a financial cost to me?
  No, the project covers all the costs of the befriending. This includes things like:
  - travel expenses for befrienders and the child or young person
  - tickets for activities like the cinema
  - expenses for things like food or equipment hire
  No Befriender, child or young person should ever be out of pocket.
- How do you support each match?
- Is the match confidential? Will you share information about me with other people?
- Do all the matches ever meet as a group?
- Can I bring a friend along to the sessions with my Befriender?
- What if I don’t want to have a Befriender anymore?
- What are you looking for in a Befriender?
  People from all walks of life volunteer as Befrienders. Just like our young people, they have different personalities, experiences and skills as well as a variety of interests. We are very thorough in our selection of our Befrienders and some characteristics are essential - all need to be friendly, reliable, consistent and motivated to help and support their child or young person. They also need to be understanding, approachable and kind. To apply to become a Befriender please complete our Application Form.
- What do matches do together?
- What support do you offer to the Befriending Team?
- Do all the matches ever meet together as a group?
- What training do you offer to volunteers?
- How is each match reviewed and monitored?
- How long does a match last for?
- Is there a financial cost to Befrienders?
  No, the service covers all the costs of the befriending. This includes things like:
  - travel expenses for befrienders and the child or young person
  - tickets for activities like the cinema
  - expenses for things like food or equipment hire
  No Befriender, child or young person should ever be out of pocket.
- Is the match confidential?
- What are the referral criteria?
  Our referral criteria are relatively broad and encompasses children and young people:
  - living in Orkney who are vulnerable or isolated
  - going through difficult times
  - between the ages of 5 and 18
  We want to be able to support as many children and young people who are struggling as possible. Befriending isn’t the right fit for everyone though. We will discuss the child or young person’s needs and abilities more thoroughly with the referrer after they have contacted us.
  To make a referral, please complete a Referral Form.
- How does the waiting list operate, and how long is a child or young person likely to wait to be matched?
- How does the service vet volunteers and prepare them for their role?
- How is each match reviewed and monitored?
- What do matches generally do together?
- How long on average will a child or young person wait for a Befriender?

Become a Befriender:

Making a referral

FAQs

Contact the Young People’s Befriending Project