Dumfries & Galloway ME and Fibromyalgia Network (SCIO)
DGMEFM NetworkAbout Dumfries & Galloway ME and Fibromyalgia Network (SCIO)
DGMEFM Network offers support to anyone in Dumfries and Galloway with lived experience of ME, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and Fibromyalgia, and their carers family. The befriending project is an additional service for those with lived experience, including people who are newly diagnosed who can be referred via GP practices and other health and social care (H&SC) professionals.
The befriending will take place via phone, video (e.g. Zoom) or in person, depending on participants’ preferences and access to broadband digital devices. The Befriender and Friend will decide how often they connect and what they do. For example, it could be purely social or may involve accompaniment to appointments. The project will be a safe space without judgement or stigma. For instance, there will be no need to explain fatigue, brain fog, pain and other symptoms and there will be flexibility to rearrange sessions if need be.
DGMEFM Network, Thistledew, Dalbeattie, Dumfries And Galloway, DG5 4JP
Service Eligibility
Information for Volunteers
DGMEFM Network’s befriending project will help reduce loneliness and isolation and increase confidence amongst people with lived experience of ME CFS and Fibromyalgia.
Volunteers will either be:
- befrienders: supporting people by interacting with them on a social level, or;
- peer mentors: supporting people to navigate health and social care systems (including diagnosis, treatment pathways and social care support), by sharing their own lived experience.
Our volunteer co-ordinator will be responsible for recruiting, training and supporting volunteers on an ongoing basis. She will match volunteers with people with lived experiences to make sure that it is a positive experience for everyone. Volunteering can take place via phone, video (e.g. zoom) or in person, depending on people’s needs. The volunteer and the person people they are matched with will decide how often they connect. Volunteers will also benefit from being part of the project with their own loneliness and isolation being reduced. There may also be opportunities to support DGMEFM Network in other ways, such as newsletter production, website updates or joining the board.