Interest Link Borders

 Improving the quality of life of people with learning disabilities through volunteer befriending

 
















                        
Scottish   Charity No. SC030132

Company Ltd by Guarantee, No. SC297772

We match people with learning disabilities (formerly called mental handicap) with volunteers so they can meet up regularly to do activities they both enjoy. 

The Need that we meet:
¨ Although most people with moderate and severe learning disabilities now live in the community, they are still socially excluded as they have no social contacts outside their family, day centre or school, no experience of making friends and no transport. 
¨This is frustrating, isolating and limiting; they cannot pursue interests, participate in mainstream community activities, make choices, gain skills or develop independence.  

Why befriending is so effective and what its outcomes are:

¨     The relationship between someone with learning disabilities and their volunteer has a very special quality not just because the volunteer enables them to pursue their interests, but also because they are there out of choice rather than because they are paid or feel an obligation. 

¨   This is often the only such relationship the person with learning disabilities has and makes a huge impact on their quality of life, confidence, self esteem, life skills and physical & mental wellbeing.
¨      Volunteers are drawn from service users’ communities and are the ideal agents to enable their participation and integration in those communities.
¨      The service also provides much needed respite for families and carers of people who use our service.

The 3 Services we run:

¨      Our Adult Service links people 1:1 with compatible volunteers so that they can meet up regularly for activities they both enjoy.

v     The service has 285 registered users and has made 400 befriending links since 2001. At any one time around 110 links are usually in operation.

v     There are 3 types of link:

· Longterm community links. These have no time limits and typical activities include going to evening classes, playing golf, painting, bird watching, shopping, swimming, having coffee, horse riding, playing football or going to the cinema..  Regularity of meeting up varies from once a week to once a month.

· Evening class links. These are limited to a term at Borders College or  community classes. 

· Student Placement links: Highers Care students from Borders College are placed as volunteers from September to March.

 For more information click here

¨      Our Young Peoples Service helps young people aged 16-25 who are in transition from childrens’ to adults’ learning disabilities services.

v     It involves 4 staff-supervised groups, each of 6 young service users and 6 young volunteer mentors.

v     In addition to social and leisure activities, there are drama and citizenship workshops which discuss the choices open to young people as they become adults.

      For more information click here

¨      Our Children's Service Pilot is running from September 2009 to March 2011.

v     It enables children aged 11-16 who have complex learning needs to access mainstream out-of-school activities.

v     The service is similar to our Adult Service, the obvious difference being that we match adult volunteers with children.

          For more information click here

How we deliver our services

We provide the service through four Branches: Berwickshire, Buddies Central Borders, Roxburgh and Tweeddale.   Each branch has its own co-ordinator and local committee.  The Branches are co-ordinated by a Project Office.

Each branch operates all three services in their own area, with the exception of the Evening Class and Student Placement links, which are organised Borders-wide by the Buddies Central Borders Branch

On this website:

We have pages specifically for people with learning disabilities, their carers and for existing and potential volunteers.

We also have pages on each of the four branches and for each of the 3 services: Adult's, Young People's and Children's

You can also watch videos about the Adult's and Young People's services

This site is designed to be accessible and the Service Users section uses mainly pictures and sounds.