Volunteering role

Roles are only available to Brighton & Hove residents at this time

We are specifically looking for volunteers to support people with accompanying mental health needs.

A friendly conversation can make a big difference to someone who spends most of their time alone.

As a befriender you will be carefully matched with an individual who we think would be a good fit for you. It’s up to you whether you want to make phone calls, visit someone at home, or both.

You could make a weekly telephone call, or a couple of shorter calls each week; or you could visit them for an hour or so for a cup of tea and a chat. You might also accompany your person on walks to their local shops or cafe (including wheelchair escorting). Some befrienders also use their own car to take their person out.

Other in-person activities might include help with form filling or making phone calls, reading aloud together, playing games, or meal sharing (Casserole Club). You might also carry out a few simple tasks, if you are happy and able to do so, like small repairs/minor DIY (excluding electrical or plumbing work), or a bit of gardening.

This is not a carer role, and you won’t be asked to carry out tasks that are essential to a person’s basic survival such as personal care, medical care, regular domestic work, and regular shopping.

Where and when you visit or call is largely down to you and the person you’re matched with. We encourage you to decide between you which day of the week you would like to meet up or speak on the phone, and whether this is a set time or not.

A particular feature of Together Co Befriending is its neighbourhood focus, so we’ll try and match you with someone local to your home or work.

Together Co is Brighton and Hove’s leading loneliness charity, working to create connections that change lives for the better across the city. We run Befriending and Social Prescribing services supporting more than a thousand people a year and have 400+ volunteers working alongside our small paid staff team. In a city of 300,000 people no one should be lonely or socially isolated. Together, we can make sure no one is.