Amongst its volunteers Wokingham & West Berkshire Mental Health Association has a number of men and women who will befriend individuals who are recovering from mental problems. Befriending may include home visiting, outings and telephone chats. Some of these befrienders are also members of a crisis team who will give twenty-four hours a day support to guests in absolute crisis.

The Wokingham Mental Health Association Befriending Scheme is one of its oldest established services, and its success is due largely to the very careful way in which it is run. We do not allow opposite-sex befriending. No individual becomes a befriender on arrival at Station House. When new volunteers present themselves we always start them off just coming to the drop-in, meeting the people and helping out. This system has the advantage that friendships develop naturally, and personal qualities become apparent - as do prejudices and adverse factors.

Once suitability has been established, volunteers may take on an individual to befriend and this may include out-of-hours befriending, outings and home visits. The largest number of possible sexual dangers are eliminated by our "same sex" befriending policy. Even so, "Befriending" appears on the agenda at every monthly executive committee meeting, and problems are nipped in the bud promptly if they do occur. Natural befriending works better than engineered partnerships in our experience.