How can Restore Adapt to Lockdown?
Covid-19 has impacted us all but lockdown and ongoing social distancing has had a significant impact on those living alone and increased the sense of isolation for those who were already lonely and living without a supportive network of family and friends. Soon after lockdown I went to a Connection Coalition webinar on Loneliness which stated: ‘the health impact of loneliness has been found to be comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, equal to a 26 per cent increase in the likelihood of mortality’. That underlined the importance of maintaining and building supportive relationships with refugees and asylum seekers who faced increased isolation during the pandemic.
But how could Restore, a project geared up to delivering face-to-face befriending and group social activities, adapt to lockdown? We asked all our existing befrienders to shift to remote befriending where possible using WhatsApp video calls as that gives a visual connection which aids communication especially where the refugee has developing English language skills.
We then set up a new temporary remote befriending scheme where volunteers could take on a new befriendee using video calls. We focused on offering that support to those who were here without family, or relatively new to Birmingham or needing English practise. Thanks to an amazing response by our volunteers we’ve started 41 new remote befriending matches offering additional support at a challenging time.
We’ve had some positive feedback about remote befriending. ‘I’m waiting for Tuesday every week, it’s good when I speak with my befriender’. Another, who has health issues, said ‘Even now, I feel a lot better because you called me, thank you so much!’
Knowing that those we serve come from BAME groups who have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19, we have been cautious in restarting face-to-face befriending. At the moment, many volunteers are continuing with remote support but some have moved to socially distanced face-to-face meetings outdoors.
“Thanks to an amazing response by our volunteers we’ve started 41 new remote befriending matches offering additional support at a challenging time.”
We were unable to meet for our Annual Celebration in July, so produced a short film with contributions from volunteers and refugees (watch above).
At this time of negative media coverage, please let us remember that refugees are people who are fleeing persecution in their home countries, desperately needing a safe place and that claiming asylum is a legal right. As Christians, let us also remember that Jesus was a refugee and allow him to shape our own response.
A befriended asylum seeker who was finally granted refugee status not long before lockdown referred to his befriender as ‘one of the best things that’s ever happened to me’. We are looking for new volunteer befrienders and running an evening training course via Zoom starting on 5 October. Why not join the 19 people who have already signed up to find out more? Find out more information about the course here.
We are very grateful for your prayer support and via GPS your financial support. Funding is always a challenge but we are delighted and grateful that we already have committed giving to cover our costs in 2020. We would love to take on an additional part-time Befriending Women’s Worker but need to find funding for that and for our other costs in 2021.
Please pray for that we will gain new volunteers through the October training course and wisdom as we match volunteers to refugees, so that helpful, supportive and enjoyable relationships can grow.
Give thanks for the justice new refugees have received and pray for our 110 volunteer befrienders in the compassionate service they offer.
Pray that we would do all the fundraising work needed during the autumn, trust that God will provide, and in the meantime, know peace.
Pray for wisdom, energy and grace as we continue to adapt.
And on a personal level, as a migraine sufferer, the increased screen time is a challenge. (I used to get some respite from screens when going to meetings – but all of those are now onscreen in the new world of Zoom).
Jeremy Thompson
Restore Manager
