The Befriending Scheme was recently awarded the Approved Provider Standard – A National Standard for Mentoring – by the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation.
The Befriending Scheme, the first of its kind for refugees and asylum seekers in Newcastle upon Tyne, has been operational since 2000. When the scheme was initially established, WERS operated with 6 volunteers who were co-ordinated by the WERS support workers. Our client group at that time was around 70. WERS currently has over 800 clients and over the past 7 years our number of volunteer befrienders has reached 32 Since 2000, over 200 clients have been supported by the scheme.
Why not join the scheme and become a volunteer befriender? Click on the Volunteering page for more information.