Caring Caller is a friendship-based service for people who live alone and those whose support networks are either permanently or temporarily unavailable. Many of our Caring Caller clients are older people; sometimes their children don’t live nearby, they have little or no social network left, have poor health or simply need something to look forward to every day.
A few years ago, Julie was going through a lonely time. When she saw an advertisement for Caring Caller, she recognised immediately how the service could help people – those receiving the calls, as well as the people making them. It was a friendship service that went both ways, so she decided to become a Caring Caller.
“I had an accident and I ended up pushing a lot of family and friends away. Three years later I was looking through the paper and saw this ad. The more I read, the more I thought, ‘gosh, I can do that’. And so I rang and it changed my life.”
The St John Caring Caller service involves matching each client with a suitable caller. The client’s confidentiality is strictly maintained at all times. Julie says that the frequency of calls depends on the needs of the client.
“Basically you are paired up with somebody and you talk to that person. Some people might like a phone call every day. Some just once a week.”
It’s often hard for someone to admit they are lonely or need help but once they’re part of the Caring Caller programme they find it really rewarding. Some Caring Caller friendships have lasted for 15 years and are still going. Julie finds the experience of being a Caring Caller mutually beneficial - it’s good for the clients and it’s good for the callers.
“Will I always be a Caring Caller? I’m pretty sure I will be.
Watch Julie’s story on video