Author: Rebecca Billington (page 3)

I joined the team of volunteer telephone befrienders with Sightline in April 2022. I connected with a member of the Sightline staff on LinkedIn, and she approached me for an initial discussion as the charity needed telephone befrienders to undertake a weekly call with people who are sight impaired. I also volunteer with Age UK and wanted to find more to do in the same vein…

Sightline’s telephone befriending service has provided me with the opportunity to share my life experiences so far. I also enjoy listening to the stories my befriender shares with me; the conversations range from our families to our interests and hobbies with everything in between thrown in too!

Each week, both Melanie and Tom tell me how much they look forward to my calls during their weeks. I truly believe they are my friends, and I am theirs and I am helping to make their lives a lot less lonely…

I haven’t any friends or family so my cleaner and Evie, my Sightline telephone befriender are the only people I am close to…

Whilst I am not visually impaired, my befriendee tells me she enjoys ours calls; these can often be lengthy so that to me is a good indicator that the calls are going well!

Day to day, being visually impaired can be a lonely experience. If the calls I make through Sightline can break up what can be a lonely, long day by offering a funny story or just a listening ear then I would do it ten times over…

I am a teacher at a primary school, so my days are extremely busy but the calls with my befriendee are scheduled for early on a Monday evening which fits in perfectly for us both…

I have to say in the seven months or so I have been speaking to Len, I love the calls – he’s brilliant…