This document is an evaluation report of the ALONE Befriending Service in 2015, conducted to provide insights and information based on the experiences of staff, older people, volunteers, and external referrers. The organisation provides direct services and campaign for vulnerable older people. The evaluation acknowledges the significant changes within ALONE and the befriending service in the preceding six years, including new governance structures, policies, volunteer training, and support.
The report highlights several key findings and recommendations across different areas of the service. In terms of referrals, the report notes that only 28% resulted in an active befriending match. Recommendations included more effective communication of eligibility criteria, developing a self-assessment flow chart, and creating a clearer points-based assessment system. The referral procedure timeline, currently averaging three months to a match, was identified as concerning, with a recommendation to contact older people waiting to be matched more frequently. The report suggests revising the referral information sheet and form to better suit different audiences (self-referrals, public referrals, external agencies).
Regarding actively befriended older people, there were 190 during the period of the evaluation. The report found that not everyone actively befriended necessarily falls within ALONE’s definition of isolation and loneliness, suggesting a need for a clearer assessment system.
On the volunteer front, while 390 people expressed interest, only 35% went on to apply. The report recommends researching the reasons for this drop-off. There is also a concern that not all active volunteers have completed mandatory core training (16%) or been allocated a mentor (16%).
The role of mentors is described as a superb concept but not fully effective in supporting volunteers or releasing staff time. The report recommends modifying the role and potentially renaming it ‘Area Team Leaders’.
The evaluation also covers communications, recommending a key priority on increasing awareness of the Befriending Service to boost self- and public referrals. This includes developing specific marketing materials and optimizing the ALONE website.
Monitoring and evaluation using Salesforce is noted as having issues with data input accuracy, hindering performance monitoring and trend identification. The report recommends allocating responsibility for database cleaning and emphasizing data accuracy. For future provision, the report suggests placing the idea of introducing alternative befriending models on hold for at least two years to focus on optimizing the current service.
Originally published in October 2015.