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Our work would not be possible without the amazing support of Grants, Trusts and Foundations.
If you are a grant maker, we would be very grateful if you would consider making a financial contribution towards our important work. Your donation will be integral to the sustainability and growth of the Charity, enabling us to continue to positively impact the lives of older people in our community.
Please find below a brief overview of our work for your consideration. Please also check out the various pages on our website for further details, including the videos section to hear from our volunteers and scheme members themselves.
Please contact our Grants and Trusts Fundraiser Alison Laurie if you would like to find out more and to make a donation alison@tttb.org.uk / 07483 137749.
“I'm not alone. It helps to tell someone interested how I feel. It eases the tension that builds up within me."
Founded in 2013, Time to Talk Befriending (TTTB) is an excellence-accredited befriending charity working on the frontline in Brighton, Hove, Worthing and Adur in Sussex.
We approach befriending in a fresh way, mobilising an intergenerational community response which directly addresses the needs of older people who are feeling chronically lonely and isolated. Motivated by our belief that older people should be respected and a be a part of our communities, our purpose is to help our older neighbours overcome their isolation and increase their self-esteem and confidence by connecting them with peers, our volunteers and specialist local organisations.
The detrimental effects of loneliness on health are well documented.
Lonely people are more likely to suffer from a range of issues including dementia, heart disease and depression. Older people living alone have poorer health than those living with others, as well as more intensive health care needs.
Most older people when they are first referred to our service by multi-disciplinary professionals have had limited access to support services.
They are experiencing extreme loneliness and are isolated because they have inadequate social networks. Their circumstances are compounded by socio-economic factors, such as income and on-line connectivity, which intensify the health inequalities they experience.
We support at least 430 older people and 350 volunteers at any one time.
Every year we make at least an additional 180 new befriending matches, assessing each older person and recruiting each volunteer individually.
We can evidence our achievements through satisfaction data and feedback obtained from our older members and volunteers through regular reviews undertaken by our trained volunteer reviewers (mostly made up of retired social workers).
89% of our scheme members tell us that befriending has had a positive/very positive impact on their lives. Feedback demonstrates how connecting with TTTB has improved their confidence, self-esteem and resilience, actively contributing towards overcoming their worry, anxiety and social isolation through tailored befriending and group activities:
“I didn’t realise how low I’d become. Suddenly all the things I needed (but didn’t know I needed!) are in place and I feel able to enjoy the day...I have purpose again.”
“Meeting M on the minibus to Tea Time Talk has been a Godsend. We both lost our husbands to Covid19. We both have no family. We are now a support to each other. But we would never have met otherwise.”
Your donations and support helps to change lives and overcome loneliness.
Could you support us financially? In doing so you will enable us to positively connect with older people who feel ‘invisible’, ‘forgotten’, and ‘alone’.
Regular monthly or one off donations make a significant difference to our Charity.
We need the generous support of our community, both big and small to improve the lives of society's most lonely, isolated and vulnerable older people.
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