Care Home Volunteers recruits, trains and supports volunteers to befriend lonely and isolated residents in care homes for older people.
Our volunteers visit residents one-to-one and face-to-face. We work currently from four local bases throughout Wiltshire and Swindon, with plans to have a national reach by 2025.
During the year up to March 2020, our volunteers made 2,500 visits to residents. We visit the most vulnerable, needy and lonely residents in all care homes, irrespective of the ownership model, CQCstatus of the home, or the funding status of the resident. We particularly focus on residents who never receive outside visits, those towards the end of their lives and those who, because of their condition, find communication particularly difficult or confusing.
We have a robust vetting and on-boarding process for volunteers, a strong focus on safeguarding and a very comprehensive training and programme run by experts in the field. Our volunteer role can be a lonely one, and we have regular catch-up and support meetings for our volunteers.
During the pandemic, we have expanded our volunteer base and written cards and letters to residents, involved schools and local companies, made virtual visits to residents and ran a JustGiving campaign to provide many tablet devices to care home residents to keep them in touch with their families and with our volunteers.
A number of large care home groups have been in touch with us about how to recruit and support volunteers for this essential befriending role. We are aware that most care homes do not have the time, capacity, skills or funds to support volunteers to carry out this role.
We do not charge for our services and all our funds come from charitable donations.
We work closely with local community groups, Local Authority Commissioners, AgeUK and many individual care homes and care home groups. We have wide support locally and nationally with all the major stakeholders in adult social care.Address: 8 Pentylands Close, Highworth, SN6 7JY
Tel: 07931 022824
Email: info@carehomevolunteers.org.uk
Website: https://www.carehomevolunteers.org.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CHVWiltshire
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