£10 charge for volunteer befriender

[Jancis]

The local Alz soc is now going to charge the dementia sufferer £10 per session for me to volunteer freely my time as a befriender, even if I agree to charge no expensess. They say there are costs incurred to set it up and roll it out.

Hi Carpe Diem, is this befriending scheme anything to do with Dementia Friends? Just wondered as I've registered my interest in Dementia Friends but the scheme is a bit mysterious at present. I would like to volunteer to befriend a lonely person with dementia, but there's something seriously wrong with the concept if the sufferer has to pay for the privilege.

Someone had better quash what is now turning into a rumour and let us know.

 

[Spiro]

Are "Volunteer Befrienders" a kind of budget version of Dementia Support Workers?

Apologies if I've got the wrong end of the stick!

 

[zeeeb]

Sounds a bit wrong to me. But, I know the administration costs are high, and they have to have records kept, police checks done etc. so that when someone is taken advantage of they have records of having tried to at least use people with a clear police check and kept records of others being visited by the same "befriender / carer".

When something goes wrong, they need to be able to instantly access details of all people being cared for or befriended by the same staff member / volunteer for the safety and security of all those other vulnerable people.

Sucks that that's the way it is totally, but it's because there are always people around that will try and take advantage of vulnerable people (and their money).

 

[PeggySmith]

£10 per hour is what MIL pays her cleaner so if she had a befriender who charged her £10 per hour she'd think it was a service that she was paying for which completely changes the relationship. I wouldn't be happy about that at all if I was volunteering.

Could you do the same thing through a different organisation which doesn't charge?

 

[carpe diem]

Thank you for all your replies, "befriending" is different to "Dementia Friends" I don't know anything about a "Dementia support worker"
A befriender visits people who have dementia in their own home just to chat, read, play a game or go for a walk or coffee. Dementia friends do not visit individuals.

I do not know if this going to be a national policy to charge for befriending and it was free in the past.
I promises you this is not a rumor. I was at the local AS office today to fill in CRB forms as I've been asking about befriending for the last few months. Just before I left they told me about this charge and we got into quite a discussion about it, to say I was surprised is putting it mildly.

 

[jenniferpa]

I'm not sure but I believe that each area will have different methods of funding any scheme that they run. So what might be true for one area may well be different elsewhere. I know that at one point in time, the befriending scheme in North Yorkshire was funded by the lottery, although I don't know if that is still true.

Just to clarify - from what carpe has been told this is a per visit fee rather than a per hour fee (and visits are between 1 -3 hours).

 

[marymary1898]

Peggy you beat me to it.
It changes the dynamic completely, particularly if the person with AD knows money is changing hands, whereas the original idea (I believe) was that someone was happy to become a friend, not a paid for sitter.

Will anyone enquiring about the service really believe that the visitor is not getting paid? If they're paying for the service maybe they will expect more than a cup of tea & a chat?
I think the example quoted above about the loan of a wheelchair is likely to be much more acceptable.

If it is their new policy, (which I have no reason to doubt), then I think the policymakers have not given it enough thought.

It is a bad idea.

 

[Spiro]

Some areas have Dementia Support Workers. On the AS fundraising page its states

"£1,000,000 would provide 32,250 hours of one-to-one support from one of our Dementia Support Workers. These experienced professionals are a lifeline for people with dementia and their families and mean they don't have to face dementia alone."

Maybe the training costs for a befriender, if any, would be cheaper.

 

[TextintheCity]

This is absolutely scandalous! Generating income from volunteers is not appropriate and I suspect the grant funders would not be pleased. Charities apply for funding from various sources (NOT usually volunteers) which include funds from grant making trusts. I really do think that an explanation is needed, without delay. Volunteers are usually paid expenses by charities, and do not pay to volunteer their time. I sincerely hope that this is just a local 'mistake' and not a national policy
Txt

 

[Soobee]

I know it's not national policy because it's not like that in my area. Hopefully we can get clarification from the Society to put our minds at rest.

 

[tp18]

Aside from the issues of whether it is right for AS to charge when a befriender is offering their services for free (I too think its wrong for them to charge, incidentally)..... the fact that the vulnerable person has to pay for a friend sours the experience from the patients point of view also.

My mum I know, would welcome a "friend" on the understanding that that person was volunteering. It would mean that the friend wanted to do this. When money changes hands, even though the volunteer may still be volunteering for free, the fact that mum would have to pay would somehow diminish the friendship, if that makes sense.

 

[FifiMo]

Carpe Diem,

Like others, I am shocked and appalled by this situation. Aside from the intention to charge, it would appear to be discriminatory in nature too and subject to some sort of means test. Who decides who is able to pay? Who is the payment made out to? Are there others involved eg social services?

I will not now be volunteering for any such scheme no matter what they call it or tart it up.

A sad day indeed.

Fiona

 

[jenniferpa]

On the whole I agree with everyone who says that there shouldn't be a charge for this service, but I did just want to throw something out there: is it better not to have a befriending service if it has to be paid for? Because that may well be the choice. Anything like this is not free to administer so if there is no funding available from another source (which would be ideal) the choice may be no service at all.

Perhaps people who are willing to volunteer but who are opposed to such charging should look into volunteering for fund raising in order to fund such programs?

 

[beech mount]

It certainly "Smells" what next, charging volenteers for volenteering?
But hey, its just another big company making money.

 

[Sue J]

On the whole I agree with everyone who says that there shouldn't be a charge for this service, but I did just want to throw something out there: is it better not to have a befriending service if it has to be paid for? Because that may well be the choice. Anything like this is not free to administer so if there is no funding available from another source (which would be ideal) the choice may be no service at all.

But if people are volunteering it is not costing £10 an hour to befriend someone in administration fees, if it is the admin is up the creek. At the most that can be justified, in my opinion, is the admin involved in setting up the initial contact and necessary checks. So where would the rest of the money go?

 

[FifiMo]

In my view, yes it would be better to have NO system, particularly one that exploits the volunteers and takes advantage of vulnerable people. It sticks in my throat that any lonely and isolated person should have to pay for a friendly face and a chat. Would you charge your elderly neighbour for this?

I mean really, what is someone going to say to the person who has no money? "We know how lonely and isolated that you are but you can't have a friend like your neighbour Betty has, because you can't pay!!!" Let me know who volunteers for that part of the job!

As always, just my views of a dreadful situation.

Fiona

 

[jenniferpa]

But if people are volunteering it is not costing £10 an hour to befriend someone in administration fees, if it is the admin is up the creek.

It isn't £10 a hour, it's £10 a visit according to Carpe.

I have no specialized knowledge about this. I just know that nothing is free to run.

I just wondered how people felt.

 

[Sue J]

It isn't £10 a hour, it's £10 a visit according to Carpe.

I have no specialized knowledge about this. I just know that nothing is free to run.

I just wondered how people felt.

Beg your pardon Jennifer, I thought it was per hour but surely for however long if the time is given freely by the volunteer it is given freely? To have to pay for it demeans the notion of a befriending in my understanding.

 

[Soobee]

It's not as easy as all that. Someone has to take responsibility for the whole scheme. There is usually a Befriending Manager who has to do a lot of work to get the scheme going and maintain it. There is a lot of checking and paperwork involved.

No service can be run for free, as much as we would like to provide them. It is just whether this is a suggested contribution or something else that is unclear at the moment. I know that the Society would not turn a service user away if they could not afford to pay.

 

[jenniferpa]

I don't disagree Sue. I'm just not sure I would go so far as to say "if it's not free it shouldn't be available to anyone". Personally, I wouldn't be at all comfortable with being charged for in this way, so I understand why people react so badly to this idea.