The language of befriending services often includes words such as loneliness, isolation and volunteering. However, for many of the people we want to engage and involve, how we pitch and present our befriending offer can trigger ‘it’s not for me’ barriers and preconceptions. For example, someone who might be’ happy to help’ may have preconceptions about formal ‘volunteering’ – what’s involved and the type of person who volunteers – or may not be part of their life or cultural experience.
During this 2-hour interactive workshop session you’ll have an opportunity to:
- Think about who are the people missing from your befriending offer?
- Explore the language of Befriending and common ‘it’s not for me barriers and preconceptions’
- Learn about practical outreach friendly comms approaches and how to reposition your offer to ‘speak to’ the people you want to reach including new befriending participants and volunteers.
- Network with peers and explore formal and informal models of befriending
You’ll come away from the workshop with practical ideas and comms approaches that could help you to address ‘it’s not for me barriers’, make it easier for referral partners to engage people about your volunteering ask and befriending offer, and to use as a tool to help you to find new people.
The workshop session will be hosted by Jo from the Good Practice Mentor team. Jo is an outreach specialist with a particular focus around engaging people not known to, or less likely to say yes to formal groups, activities, services, support and volunteering. During the workshop Jo will bring this expertise together with her experience of running and developing peer support and befriending services. She looks forward to meeting you in the workshop and having an opportunity to consider and explore befriending comms together.
