North Lanarkshire Befriending featured on Scotland’s Talk In

Bauer Media have recently launched their #TaketheTime campaign to combat loneliness in Scotland. Over the past week they’ve been talking about befriending across their radio stations and we were delighted to hear Evelyn and Caitlin from our North Lanarkshire Befriending Project on Scotland’s Talk In show on Sunday (25th February).

The pair spoke about how their befriending relationship started and how it has developed over the past year. Loneliness is not just about the elderly, it can affect the young as well, and the programme reflected this.

Caitlin shared her reason for taking part in the North Lanarkshire Befriending Project and said: “Because of family backgrounds I stopped going out, I didn’t want to leave the house and it wasn’t really helping me. It was recommended that I got a befriender, not just to take me out on outings but for somebody to talk to, for getting out the house, just for being out.

“To start with it was kind of like ‘who is this person’ but it was comfortable straight away.”

Caitlin’s befriender Evelyn, said:  “I had a befriender of my own when I was younger and it benefited me…it’s just giving someone a couple of hours to be themselves, to get out of the house and talk to someone.

“It’s not just about helping a young person, for me it’s been a personal journey also. It’s helped me understand some of the things that I’ve been through and mature as a person. I can’t express how much of a benefit it has been for both of us.”

We are delighted that so far an amazing 700 people have registered their interest in becoming a befriender in Scotland thanks to the #TaketheTime campaign!

You can listen to the full podcast of Caitlin and Evelyn’s interview here, 12:00 minutes in.

Find can find more on Evelyn’s story and our befriending project on the link below.

Read Article