Hanover has been housing and supporting people in Scotland for more than forty years. Our core purpose is to help older people feel safe and secure at home and to live fulfilling and independent lives. This sums up our commitment to housing for life. We provide and manage a wide range of housing and services, mainly for older people. We currently manage more than 5,000 homes throughout Scotland. We provide a range of housing and tenure types to meet the different support needs of older people, allowing people to retain their independence within a local community and enjoy as much privacy or company as they wish.

We currently have a great opportunity to help in our sheltered developments in Aberdeen as a Volunteer Befriender.

The role involves:

• The Volunteer Befriender helps residents who feel isolated or unable to get out very easily on their own by giving time on a one to one basis to help a person maintain social contact, provide companionship and reduce loneliness and social isolation.
• Volunteer befrienders build a positive relationship with an individual and visit them on a regular basis in their own flat. This could mean spending some time with a person for an hour or two every week/fortnight, we also encourage getting out and about for a coffee or short walk.
• Generally, befrienders are there to chat and get to know someone, have fun. Support the person to continue with existing interests, whilst encouraging them to embark on new activities.

Benefits of Volunteering:

• Helping older people in your community to stay connected and to be less socially isolated.
• Helping older adults in your community to remain active and independent.
• Personal development.
• Making new friends.
• Valuable experience for work in care.

Time Commitment:‍

• Once a week / fortnight / month
• Monday to Sunday
• AM and PM

No qualifications are necessary. We are looking for volunteers who are interested in working with older people, have good communication and listening skills, are reliable and willing to work as part of a team. Relevant guidance, induction and support is provided to all volunteers.

A great opportunity to help and make a difference for our residents and the local community. If interested in helping/for more information please contact James Brown at email: jbrown@hanover.scot or telephone: 07484532052