Tandem provides befriending for people with mental illness living in Oxford. Their much-valued befrienders are committed and caring individuals, motivated by making the world a better place and helping others.
As all those involved in volunteering will know, volunteering has changed. Whereas once, many older people would become volunteers after they had raised their families and retired from work, nowadays, many volunteers are younger.
The qualities Tandem is looking for are not determined by age. They appreciate that each age group has something different to offer, and that all of these skills are equally important.
Their twice-yearly training courses give men and women from many different ethnicities and social backgrounds the skills they need to offer support and friendship to someone who is isolated as a result of their mental health illness.
Befriending a person with mental illness is about being friendly, gentle and accepting. It is about sharing activities and interests, whether that is going out for a coffee, trawling the charity shops for a bargain or playing a game of squash at the gym. It is about two people enjoying being part of the community and exploring the world together, irrespective of a diagnosis of mental illness, and irrespective of age.
Friendships can be enhanced by having shared memories and experiences, and those in need of befriending often appreciate having a volunteer of a similar age.
Tandem would like to offer a choice to people whose ill health has resulted in limited or no choices, such as hospital admissions or a lifetime of prescribed drugs. And whilst they are thrilled to be able to match someone in their thirties to a volunteer of a similar age, they would also love to be better able to offer the same option to people in their fifties or sixties. So, if you have an hour to spare a week and would like to be there on a regular basis to help someone get more out of life, they’d love to hear from you.
And whilst they would never discriminate on grounds of age, the older, the better!
Tandem volunteer training: Nov 6 and 13, 2010, 10am-4.30pm. For more information ring 01865 724225, or email stephen@tandem-oxon.org
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here