Befriending and language support

Befriending is our main aim at Refugees Welcome in Richmond (RWinR) once a client or family arrives in the UK.

Our volunteer befrienders each help at least one specific client with or without their family settle into the community. Role holders visit clients and families in their homes on a regular basis and build supportive relationships of friendship and trust. Success lies in enabling each client to feel safe, comfortable and secure in the UK and empowering them to progress towards an independent life.

What follows is an outline of the befriender role for prospective volunteers.

Responsibilities and duties

  • Visit the client/family in their home regularly, at least once a month. Most visits are one to two times a week and last one to two hours.
  • Support their efforts to learn English by providing an opportunity to practice English conversation.
  • Offer friendship to reassure clients that they are not alone, despite separation from family and friends.
  • Offer positivity and encouragement as they navigate life in an unfamiliar and often alien environment.
  • Suggest how they might access local amenities or services.
  • Position suggestions as the informal advice one would offer to a relative, rather than as ‘expert’ advice.
  • Represent the client/family in matters requiring fluent English (online, by phone and/or in person) if they request this.
  • Proactively identify and suggest activities or local outings that the client/family might enjoy.
  • Alert the Team Leader if extra support is required for e.g. language, housing, medical, and/or education issues. 
  • Liaise with the Volunteer Manager if the client/family need clothing, toys, household equipment, furniture, etc, clarifying to the client/family that we cannot fund requests for household items directly, but we can also appeal on Facebook for donations.
  • Show sensitivity to the trauma of war and displacement; listen if the client/family chooses to share experiences, but do not ask directly.
  • Work according to the our policies.
  • Alert the Safeguarding Officer immediately if concerned about the health/safety of a client or family member. Volunteers do not attempt to investigate any health/safety concerns by themselves.
  • Record all sessions on a Volunteer Session Record Sheet shared with a Team Leader.
  • Notify the client/family in advance of any planned visits, to ensure it is convenient for them.

Experience and qualifications

  • Empathy.
  • Respect for clients as competent people able to exercise agency and supported to do so.
  • Ability to accept and value different cultural attitudes and practices.
  • Self-starter with initiative.
  • Team player.
  • A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with no criminal convictions.

Induction as a Befriending Volunteer

Before beginning work with Refugees Welcome in Richmond (RWinR) all new volunteers take part in a number of induction activities, which include:

  • An interview with other RWinR volunteers.
  • Completing the Volunteer Information Form.
  • Applying for and/or checking of a RWinR-specific DBS certificate.
  • Volunteers forwarding two references to the RWinR Safeguarding Lead or Deputy.
  • Volunteers reading the RWinR policies including Safeguarding and the Code of Conduct.
  • Online safeguarding training.

Beginning the engagement

The Befriending Team Leader will match befriending volunteers to clients/families.

The Team Leader will be present at the first two to four meetings with the new client/family. If considered useful and appropriate, and assessed as safe to do so, Volunteers will support the client/family as a lone worker, in accordance with our Lone Worker Policy and Risk Assessments.

At the beginning of the engagement the befriending volunteer and Team Leader will communicate with the client/family to listen and ascertain:

  • How often they would like to have visits.
  • How long visits will last.
  • What sort of support they need.
  • How they would like to communicate, e.g. text, phone, WhatsApp.
  • The extent and limitations of the support given. 
  • An agreement will be made with the client/family, which may be updated week by week.

Developing the engagement

We understand that the specific needs of refugee families will vary, and volunteers will be able to offer different skills and time commitments. However, we aim to support a client/family for at least a year should they request it. If possible, we ask our volunteers to deliver at least six months of support.  

Throughout the engagement the volunteer will be supported by the Befriending Team Leader. The volunteer will notify the Team Leader if lone working and make a shared record each session with the client/family. 

After the first six weeks the volunteer will ask the client for feedback and ask if they want to continue the support. Volunteers will communicate with the Befriending Team Leader to discuss the progress of the client’s/family’s integration and benefits of the support. If changes need to be made these will be discussed with the client/family then implemented.

The volunteer will make three more reports to the Team Leader about the befriending after three months, six months, and a year of volunteering. At each stage the volunteer will ask the client/family about the impacts of the support they are getting and ask if they would like to change or end it. The Team Leader will also ask volunteers for their own feedback and any need for support at each of the reporting stages.

If you would like to find out more about our volunteering opportunities, please contact us.

Policies and procedures

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