"Friends in Mind" befriending scheme
Rotarian Mike Tomkinson is a Community Mental Health Worker with the national charity "Together" which is the oldest mental health charity in the country.
Mike is also the Convenor of the Community Service Committee of the Rotary Club of Rochdale and has identified an area of service where we can make a real difference to the lives of a few members of the community
Mike and his colleagues at “Together” are training and vetting some of the members of our Rotary Club so that they are qualified to befriend people with mental health problems who otherwise feel isolated and lonely.
Qualified Rotarians will commit themselves to befriend a client for about an hour once every two weeks. Not an onerous commitment but valuable support to help the recovery of someone who is struggling to make meaningful contact with friends in the community and who needs to increase their feelings of confidence, self-esteem and well-being.
This scheme is only just beginning but it is hoped that it can be widened to recruit participants in Rochdale from outside Rotary and that it can be duplicated by other Rotarians across the North West and beyond