W6 - Sleeping Giants CIC on behalf of A Listening Ear, Wigtownshire
Investment project code: 259
Job Title - Volunteer and Project Co-Ordinator
Amount Reqested = £13,970.00
A Listening Ear, Wigtownshire is a volunteer-led telephone befriending service which was established in March 2020 as a direct result of increased loneliness due to Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions. Sleeping Giants are supporting their development.
Since it first began, A Listening Ear has been completely volunteer led, has an active board and plans to develop the service so that it can support even more isolated people across Wigtownshire.
We provide a telephone befriending service to people who are isolated, offering friendship, signposting, information and referral to other appropriate agencies.
We have 32 befriending volunteers, mainly in Wigtownshire but some in Castle Douglas and as far away as Birmingham. They are currently supporting 45 phone friends and we have a waiting list which is increasing every week. Referrals come from local organisations such as health, social work, local housing associations, and the Third Sector as well as self-referrals.
We support our phone friends in a variety of ways, from simply being there for a weekly or daily friendly chat to signposting to relevant agencies that can help with queries relating to home safety, benefits, health information and housing. This reduces isolation, increases respect and hope, provides direct access to relevant information and has an impact on work opportunities.
This funding would provide us with a paid volunteer co-ordinator and would really help to make sure we can keep running our vital befriending service and expand our reach to help even more people in the future.
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