South East

Mentoring & Befriending in your region

South East - Brighton Pier
At present we are working with 1481 mentoring and befriending projects and organisations in the region. To date 247 of these had taken part in our registration process.   25% of the projects consulted with were befriending and buddying, 37% mentoring and 28% peer mentoring (both pre and post-16). Most of these projects were in the non profit sector with the majority being run by voluntary organisations and charities. The most popular client groups that these projects work with are pupils and students and the Lonely, Isolated and Housebound.



The South East has many examples of good practice in Mentoring and Befriending, including;

  • Refugee Resource, established in 1999 and is based in Oxford.  The organisations  aims to relieve distress, improve well-being and facilitate the integration of refugees and asylum seekers – mainly in Oxfordshire – by providing practical, social and psychological support.  Refugee Resource’s Mentoring service provides support to refugees and asylum seekers aged 18 or over living in Oxfordshire by pairing them with mentors. Mentors are volunteers from a variety of backgrounds who befriend an individual through a one to one relationship. They provide practical support, such as helping mentees to fill out forms or access local services, and emotional support, guidance and encouragement. They recently achieved full APS accreditation for their work.

  • The Oxfordshire Befriending Network. Also awarded APS recently are The Oxfordshire Befriending Network who  provide free befriending, advocacy and counselling services to people with life threatening illnesses and terminal diagnosis.   Their vision is that anyone in Oxfordshire who has a life threatening illness or is terminally ill has access to our services to support and empower them.    The Befriending  service is  provided by fully trained and supported volunteers.  who meet their befriendees weekly to listen, talk, offer  social and emotional support,  accompany the befriended person on hospital visits or other trips, provide a link with local health and social services, and also provide   a much-needed break for carers and relatives.

More examples of the real impact of Mentoring and Befriending within local communities can be found at our case studies or regional news pages

We have representatives in all of the nine government regions throughout England, making a direct impact upon the communities that you live in. They can help you with a number of things; for example setting up a project, developing an existing programme or achieving Approved Provider Standard status.

Contact your Regional Co-ordinator