Befriending
RESTORE is best known for its befriending scheme.
The Befriending scheme links a trained volunteer from Birmingham or Solihull to a refugee or asylum seeker to offer support.
RESTORE is hugely grateful to all our volunteers who actively show compassion and care. Without our committed team of volunteers we would not be able to offer this means of one-to-one support.
A review of RESTORE’s work in autumn 2006, confirmed that befriending provides a valuable means of emotional support to refugees and asylum seekers.
What do volunteer Befrienders do?
- Offer support and friendship
- listen
- stand alongside
- help with conversational English
- provide some recreation through trips to local places of interest
- help in finding services
- possibly have some contact with a solicitor
- maybe lobby on behalf of their (asylum seeker) befriendee
Comments from befrienders
“It is about promoting independence, helping refugees build up their confidence as well as their English language.”
“It is a two-way process. I felt I learnt a lot from the people I befriended and that they learnt from me, I hope.”
“Sometimes it is about accompanying people to offices or service providers. I know that people get a better service sometimes if they know that there is an English witness there as it were. ”
“I listen to my befriendee to find out what he wants.”
“The befriending has to be flexible as the refugees have different needs and the befrienders have different things to offer. It can take a while to work this out.”
(Comments taken from Evaluation report of RESTORE by external consultants Richard Malfait and Nick Scott-Flynn compiled in November 2006)
Read about the experiences of some of our befrienders ...
What’s the impact on someone who has been befriended?
Augustin was a journalist who investigated the disappearance of a group of children in his country. He suspected a government cover-up. To stop his search for justice he was attacked so severely by the police that he required neurosurgery. He fled to Britain to escape further persecution. In Birmingham, he's had two major operations yet he still remains housebound.
The Home Office does not believe his story and states it would be safe for him to return to his home country. RESTORE has matched Augustin to befrienders who have visited him at home and in hospital. They have listened. They have made phone calls on his behalf. They have chatted about politics, church and football. They have become Augustin's friends.
Quote from Augustin: For me all things were black: my health, my family, my work and my friends. But with RESTORE I can smile again.
Quote from Jeremy Thompson, Befriending Co-ordinator: We are hugely grateful to our volunteer befrienders who obey the call of Jesus to 'welcome the stranger' by supporting some of the most marginalised people in our society.
Comments from those who have been befriended
“It was good, especially at the beginning when you are not used to anything.”
“The best thing is the friendship that it provides.”
“Having a friend is a very good thing, especially for the newcomer.”
“Befrienders are excellent at providing the invisible things like just showing you around, being a friend, providing company, giving you a feeling of normal life.”
“My expectations of befriending were very high, especially with regards to it helping me to find a job, which it didn’t directly do.”
“I now help people myself based on what I experienced in befriending.”
“What is most difficult about being in the UK is not having friends and not knowing your way around.”
(Comments taken from Evaluation report of RESTORE by external consultants Richard Malfait and Nick Scott-Flynn compiled in November 2006)
How to get involved as a befriender
All potential volunteer befrienders must attend our Training Course.
( see details ).
Through Birmingham Churches Together, RESTORE helps potential volunteer Befrienders obtain necessary clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau for work with vulnerable adults and children.
If you are interested in becoming a Befriender, please join us for the next Training Sessions or come to an Open Meeting to find out more.
Information sessions on Asylum Issues and Training for Befriending
The training is offered to all those interested in becoming befrienders of asylum seekers and refugees. People wishing to gather further information on asylum and refugee issues are also welcome.
Sessions focus on:
- the current situation and needs relating to asylum seekers and refugees
- the asylum application process
- how individuals and churches across the city are responding to the needs of asylum seekers and refugees
- befriending matters including motivation behind our action, boundaries, and cultural and religious sensitivity
Befrienders, asylum seekers and refugees will share their stories.
Further details from Jeremy Thompson (Befriending Co-ordinator). Please contact the office if you plan to attend, so we have an idea of numbers.
Search