How we do it.

Compassionate Neighbours visit their community member regularly (about once a week).  They offer friendship, emotional support and a listening ear and help their community member to do the things they like doing.  They help their community member to stay connected to the community.

Anyone can be a Compassionate Neighbour, including a person with a life-limiting illness or someone who has been bereaved.  Some Compassionate Neighbours meet their community members in groups, in care homes or housing associations, or just in one-to-one matches.

It’s a genuine two-way friendship.  Being a Compassionate Neighbour doesn’t come with a job description or a list of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’, and we don’t use terms such as ‘volunteer’ or ‘patient’ – each individual is seen in their own right. 

The magic of the project comes from the match made between the Compassionate Neighbour and the Community Member.  Some people like to be matched with people with very similar backgrounds and interests; some like to be matched with people they might not usually come into contact with.  The project thrives on understanding what people are looking for and what makes them tick.  The matches between Compassionate Neighbours and Community Members work best when they are mutually beneficial and feel natural.

Compassionate Neighbours are given training that offers space to reflect on their own responses to life and death, as well as providing an opportunity to think about how they might handle different situations.  The training can be adapted by each hospice for their own local communities, specific groups and working people who can’t attend weekday training.