Passing the Baton Befriender — Edinburgh

Homelessness is experienced for many reasons, including loneliness, poor mental health, addiction, and family breakdown. Our Homelessness Prevention teams help address these issues, build resilience and strengthen communities. Bethany’s Community Development Workers run drop-ins, groups, and recovery programmes across Scotland, connecting people to support networks and services. This volunteer opportunity supports that vital work in the community, helping Bethany Christian Trust in its big vision of “ending homelessness one person at a time.”

General responsibilities

• Developing a companionship level relationship with their befriendee (we match male-male and female-female).
• Encouraging the befriendee to attend social activities and community groups.
• Participate in induction and on-going training as appropriate and adhere to all procedures and policies.
• Sending number of hours you spend with the befriendee, on a monthly basis, to Passing the Baton staff.

Important pre-requisites for the role

• A befriender should have integrity, be reliable and non-judgemental and be aware of confidentiality issues which may arise regarding the individual.
• Be sociable and have an approachable manner.
• Have good time management and organisational skills.
• Be 21 years old or over.
• Be able to operate under the guidance and support of Passing the Baton staff.
• A person of Christian faith, rooted in a Christian community.

All befrienders will receive the necessary Passing the Baton training before becoming a befriender.

Location: Within Edinburgh. As far as possible, we will try and match you to a befriendee who is geographically close to you.

Pattern of hours: It may be necessary, for the first 2-3 months, to meet up with the befriendee for 1.5 – 2 hours every 1-2 weeks to build a relationship before taking them to a group. Where possible, we encourage you to meet during Bethany office hours (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) to ensure a staff member is available in case of emergency.

Passing the Baton Befriender Role Description