Befriending in Harrogate District

Mind in Harrogate District offers a service for people across the whole district, and is now supporting people in the market towns of Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Ripon, Pateley Bridge and Masham as well as Harrogate. The service is for anyone who may feel:

  • isolated
  • lonely
  • low in mood
  • anxious
  • in need of human companionship

The aim is to match volunteer befrienders with people who would benefit from community based support and in developing social relationships, so if you live in these areas and either need need support or wish to volunteer as a befriender, then please do contact us.

What does befriending involve?

Human companionship is important for maintaining positive mental health so if you need a little support, our Befriending Service could be for you. This service offers the opportunity to meet with a volunteer befriender on a regular basis for walks, a café visit or a shopping trip.

The first session will be a supervised meet and greet to ensure that both parties are comfortable with one another. From then on regular one to one visits can be scheduled.

Read some of the experiences of our befrienders and service users here.

If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact us by phone on 01423 503335 or email at [email protected]

Volunteers

If you are a compassionate, friendly and positive individual living in the Harrogate District and want to get involved in supporting people within the community, then volunteering as a befriender could be for you. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for this service and wish to request an application form and/or discuss further, please email [email protected] with your name and a contact phone number.

You can download a Volunteer Befriender role description from our Volunteer Opportunities section of our Volunteer Page.

Once you complete our application form, where you can provide us with a brief description of yourself and your interests, please return the completed form to [email protected].

The Befriending Coordinator is happy to meet you at our Harrogate office or in our community locations at Nidderdale Plus Pateley Bridge, Ripon Library, Masham Community Office and Boroughbridge Morrison’s Community Office.

DBS checks are required for all our volunteers.

If you have any further questions about volunteering as a befriender, then please don’t hesitate to contact us by phone on 01423 503335 or email [email protected].