Community Befriending
The Community Befriending Programme is a service provided to men leaving our Backlane Hostel. When the men are living in the hostel they receive informal social support and an information provision service from staff, volunteers and other service users in the hostel. Once they move out, this often disappears and leads to isolation and loneliness in their new accommodation and communities and creates a risk of relapsing into homelessness.
The Community Befriending Programme is centred on the service users and former service users of Backlane Hostel in Dublin City centre, to address this potential isolation and loneliness which can be common when they move on. 
The service users are all men who are making positive steps towards independent living and have moved or are moving into private rented or local authority housing.
The programme is based around volunteers meeting with a service user on a weekly basis, for a minimum comittment of twelve months. Each service user is matched with two volunteers who makes weekly social and support visits. There are also a number of group social events which take place each month, where volunteers and befrienders get the opportunity to meet each other and develop their support network.
The programme is five years old and has expanded significantly and in 2010 had its work reaffirmed with all of its participants staying out of homelessness.
All volunteers receive a full induction to fully understand the ethos of Depaul Ireland, the needs of our service users and the protocol's of the programme. These help volunteers to maintain professional boundaries with the service users they meet with and provide knowledge of the various support services to refer the men to as required.
Read what Community Befriending Volunteer Denise has to stay about volunteering:
"The role of a befriender is a varied one. Like any other friendship it requires give and take and is not always a smooth path! Whilst my role should be to support, empower and facilitate personal growth for the participant I am assigned, often they have inspired and encouraged me through difficulties in my own life.
The role of a befriender is very rewarding. In my experience the men value the time you take to meet with them. They are open and honest and very respectful of the relationship you build with them. I would encourage anyone wishing to volunteer to try a befriending programme as you will get a lot more out of it than you put in."
