We are sharing a few stories from some of the people we’ve supported during Covid-19.
“I used to volunteer myself and enjoyed helping people. I’m now on the other side of the fence with volunteers helping me. I have found the Richmond AID service really valuable, particularly as I am self-isolating and live on my own. I am really enjoying chatting to my new phone buddy, he lives locally and has shared interests. I genuinely look forward to him calling me and it really does help to relieve my isolation” – John
John contacted Richmond AID following a referral from the Community Hub. He explained that he had received a letter from HM Government as he has a medical condition which makes him extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus. John (age 55) has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and has been advised to remain in self isolation. At the time of the call he had received a food parcel from the Government but was worried about how he would collect his medication from the pharmacy. He is in touch with his sister but she does not live nearby. He has no neighbours or friends he feels he can ask to help. We asked how he was coping generally and whether he needed any other support. He said that he felt very isolated and missed talking to people. We discussed telephone befriending as an option and how that might help him – he was really interested in finding out how that might work.
What we did
We contacted the Hampton and Hampton Hill Voluntary care group to ask if they had any volunteers that would be able to assist John with his prescription. They arranged for a volunteer to contact John and get details of his pharmacy – John was then able to phone the pharmacy to arrange pick up through a volunteer.
We referred John to our befriending team. They spoke to him about his interests and matched him with a suitable volunteer.
The outcome
John received his prescription from a volunteer at the Hampton Hill Voluntary care group – they are organising this for him on a regular basis. Richmond AID matched him with a local volunteer befriender who calls him twice a week at regular times for a chat.
John said “I used to volunteer myself and enjoyed helping people. I’m now on the other side of the fence with volunteers helping me. I have found the Richmond AID service really valuable, particularly as I am self-isolating and live on my own. I am really enjoying chatting to my new phone buddy, he lives locally and has shared interests. I genuinely look forward to him calling me and it really does help to relieve my isolation”