A befriender spends a couple of hours a week with the person and doesthings like taking the child out to the park or spending time talking toa member of the family.
Describe a typical day? I have to respond to family and volunteerenquiries, recruit and train volunteers, and match up families with theright volunteers.
What other agencies, and who else within your own organisation do youhave to work with? We have frequent referrals from social workers,clinical psychiatrists and portage teams.
How did you end up in the job? I was a volunteer befriender five yearsago, matched to two different families. Then I was asked to co-ordinatethe P2P scheme, a parent-to-parent telephone support line operated byvolunteers who are parents of a child or adult with autism. I wasdelighted, as P2P had been my only support when my son was diagnosed at14 with a disorder on the autistic spectrum. Then I was asked if I wouldtemp as a volunteer support officer part-time. This became permanent andI have been promoted to volunteer co-ordinator.
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