Welcome Friends

  • Our volunteer befrienders visit people in their homes for a chat and a cuppa once a week
  • Welcome Friends helps people who are lonely and isolated by providing a companion

Welcome Friends has been running for over 11 years throughout Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil. The project provides friendship through home visits and telephone calls by volunteers, reducing social isolation and improving well-being.

Welcome Friends improves the quality of life for older people by working with them to overcome or accommodate the difficulties faced by those who are not able to get out often.

Volunteering with Welcome Friends is a satisfying and rewarding experience. Volunteers need to be able to give an hour a week of their time to visit or telephone a lonely, sometimes isolated person in their own home. Their companionship can encourage them to seek interests in a local activity group or just enjoy a cup of tea and a chat. We will apply for a DBS check and take up two references from friends or colleagues and then arrange for an informal training session before introducing them to a new friend. We welcome applications from outside of the area for telephone befriending.

Make a referral

Hands of someone knitting with thread and two knitting sticks

Current volunteering opportunities

Volunteer Befriender (Rhondda Cynon Taf & Merthyr Tydfil)

Full details

Quotes from volunteers

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For Merthyr Tydfil, get in touch if you’re interested in volunteering or would like to refer someone to this programme.

Contact the team

This project is kindly supported by

People’s Postcode Lottery
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