Befriending service expands to meet high demand
Loneliness is a growing problem which the charity Time to Talk Befriending is trying to tackle.
The inter-generational scheme carefully matches volunteers with people who feel socially isolated and visits are organised weekly or fortnightly.
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Hide AdThe charity is based in Brighton and Hove but the demand west of the city has been such that it began branching out to Adur and Worthing three months ago.
More volunteers in this area are now sought to meet the high demand from people aged over 65.
One of the first to benefit from the expansion was 87-year-old Beryl Bailey, of Monks Court, North Road, Lancing.
She said: “They were very clever for matching me up with just the perfect person. She comes once a fortnight. She is a delight.
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Hide Ad“She shares my interests in books and art. I am very lucky to have found her. It is nice to meet people on your wavelength.”
Beryl, who has been in Lancing for 17 years, was a writer and taught at a boys’ school in Croydon.
She never married and did not want children. She was engaged to a man called Rod but he died from prostate cancer two years ago.
“He was a joy to talk to. He was alone in the world as I am,” she said.
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