Lincolnshire Cares is here to help anyone, in the areas we cover in the county, who feels isolated or lonely, especially those over the age of 60. Currently, we are operational in Caistor, North and South Kelsey, and all the surrounding villages, and we plan to expand into other local areas in the future.
Those who can benefit from our help are referred to us from a variety of sources, including GPs, District Nurses, Housing Associations, nursing homes, family, neighbours and by self-referral.
These people are known as our ‘members’ and we carefully match them with one of our volunteer ‘befrienders’. Our group coordinator meets with the member to learn about their hobbies, pastimes and background. The same coordinator also meets our volunteer befrienders, so that we can then make the best possible match.
Once a match is made, then the coordinator arranges and attends the first introductory meeting, which we very much hope will be the first of many meetings between the volunteer and the member. If visits are not possible, then the matches are arranged by telephone for future telephone befriending. We currently have around 30 successful matches and we expect this number to increase significantly as our service expands geographically.
While there is an initial review after six weeks, either the volunteer or member can ask for the match to be reviewed at any time by speaking to the coordinator.