Dumfries & Galloway Befriending Project – Befriender: #BefriendingIs giving encouragement!
26th September 2021
Dumfries & Galloway Befriending Project (DGBP) is a local charity, founded in 1997. DGBP is to support and enrich the lives of vulnerable young people, aged 8 to 18, across Dumfries & Galloway through Befriending. The Project offers young people experiencing challenges at home, school or in the community, the opportunity of extra support and regular positive adult attention.
Reflections of a Befriender
It was around 14 months since I had last met Aiden face to face on a normally planned befriending get together. The main way we have kept in touch has been by letter. Mostly me writing to him, though I am sent the odd e-mail and text message to keep me going.
I felt it was important to keep up our weekly contact and typing and printing out letters gave me the opportunity to include photographs to show Aiden what I was up to and talking about. He does like this way of keeping in touch. I also use the letters to encourage Aiden and help him deal with any issues that may concern him. One big thing for him was the transition to secondary school during the year and I was able to pass on to him pointers based on my knowledge of the school and my own grandchildren’s experiences. I find it easy to include a positive thought or message into each letter and one advantage of letters is that they can be read, kept and even re-read.
My letters covered a wide range of topics from trivia and lighthearted to quite serious, but an unexpected benefit has been how much writing these letters meant to me and kept me upbeat and positive about the future. Since the restrictions have been lifted, I have been able to meet Aiden again. We have both enjoyed getting back to spending face-to-face time with each other, as you can see from the photo.
By: Dumfries & Galloway Befriending Project
If you’re inspired and would like to get involved please visit: