Earlier this year we asked the older people we befriend across Tower Hamlets a simple question: what difference does THFN make to your life?
Forty-nine people told us. Every single one of them said they are satisfied with the service, and 86% said they are very satisfied. Forty-seven out of 48 said THFN has improved their quality of life. Forty-five out of 46 said they feel less lonely and isolated since a befriender started visiting.
We are proud of those numbers. But it is the words behind them that matter most.
One befriendee, aged between 75 and 84, summed up her experience in three words: “THFN saves lives.”
Another told us her befriender “does more for me than my own children.”
A daughter caring for her mother described our visits as “a lifeline for Mum and for me.”
And one person we support today told us something that stopped us in our tracks: THFN also supported her mother, 30 years ago. Her message to everyone else was simple. “Why would you not support such a caring and professional organisation, that has improved the quality of elderly people’s lives in Tower Hamlets?”
What people value most
When we asked what people value about befriending, the answer was not complicated. Someone to talk to. Companionship and friendship. The relationship itself came first, ahead of everything else we do.
That matters, because the people we visit are among the most isolated in the borough. Most are over 75. Most live with several long-term health conditions. Many cannot leave home without help. For them, a regular visit from someone who comes for the person — not the task — is not a luxury. It is often the difference between coping and not.
“There is no clever trick to befriending. It is one person turning up for another, week after week, because they matter. What our befriendees have told us is that this simple thing changes lives — and in some cases, in their own words, saves them. My thanks go to every befriender and volunteer who makes that happen.”
Rita Chadha, CEO, Tower Hamlets Friends & Neighbours
Befriending in Tower Hamlets since 1947
THFN has been visiting isolated older people in Tower Hamlets for nearly 80 years. Alongside regular befriending visits, we provide advocacy, practical help and a link to other services for people who might otherwise fall through the gaps.
If you know an older person in Tower Hamlets who would benefit from a befriender, we would love to hear from you. And if what our befriendees have said moves you, a donation goes directly into keeping those visits happening.
Make a referral: www.thfn.org.uk/referral-page Donate: www.thfn.org.uk/donate
