Loneliness is closely linked to poor mental health. Often the two can create a vicious circle, reinforcing one another. Building Connections allows young people to work with a dedicated befriender to find their way through loneliness.
Our new befriending service, Building Connections, is here to help children and young people up to the age of 19, when they're struggling with loneliness.
Children who have spoken to Childline about loneliness have said they struggle to build relationships with other people. Building Connections sets itself apart from Childline by using a befriending approach, where young people can speak to the same befriender over a period of time, helping them also learn how to build a relationship.
Building Connections provides:
- a service to young people who are experiencing or struggling with the impact of loneliness and poor relationships
- early intervention to young people who may be experiencing these feelings, which sometimes leads to other mental health needs like anxiety, low self-esteem, or depression
- a service that supports resilience and confidence building in young people who are not confident in accessing mental health services.
How it works
1.
Young people are referred into Buildling Connections by a professional within an organisation/agency that works with those children and young people, such as a teacher.
2.
The teacher or professional completes a 'Request for Service' form to help us assess the suitability and ensure this would be the correct service provided at an appropriate time.
3
The service is available Monday to Friday (8am-8pm) and across 11 online text-based sessions, participants work through our seven-step programme with a dedicated befriender.
4.
Each Building Connections session gives the young person tools that can support them and help them develop resilience and coping techniques.
FAQs for parents and carers
We require a completed consent form to confirm you and your child agree to working with us, then a professional will submit a request for service form helping us to understand a little bit more about your child and how we can help.
No, we require a professional to submit the referral as part of our safeguarding processes.
They will be offered 11 online text-based support sessions. Your child will be allocated a one-hour session at an agreed time regularly with a trained befriender who will support them through our 7-step programme.
No, 1-2-1 chats are online, and work in a similar way to using instant messaging.
The service is open to any young people under the age of 19. If a young person starts their sessions when they are 18 but are turning 19 before the end, it would be okay to start the sessions. There is no lower age limit providing the young person can communicate through text online.
Your child will chat with the same befriender each session.
11 sessions will be arranged for the same day/time each week. Your child will be able to log in to their account and check their session days/times at any point and we also send reminder emails to their email address an hour before each session.
Consistency is an important part of the Building Connections programme, however, we understand that things sometimes can happen to prevent young people from attending. When this happens, we ask to let the befriender know or to send an email. We will then rearrange the session for another time or the following week, however they would still get the full 11 sessions.
At present, we can only offer the Building Connections service in English.
The service will be available between 8am – 8pm, Monday to Friday. Some schools may allow young people to undertake their sessions during the school day, but young people can sign up outside of school hours. The service is available both during term time and during the holidays.
Young people will need access to a laptop or another suitable device to access our online platform. They'll also need access to a personal or school email address at the time of their sessions and a private, and a comfortable space for the duration of their sessions.
No, if the young person would rather have a parent, carer or professional with them during their sessions that's okay, this could be to support with typing or for emotional support.
As part of completing the final session there will be a six to nine-month plan, including local and online resources to support the young person going forward. They will still also have access to the Building Connections site to use the resources there.
No, the sessions are between the young person and their befriender. The professional who has referred the young person will be advised once the sessions are completed but it's up to the young person if they'd like to share anything from the sessions. They will be encouraged to do so as school/family/friends are likely to be part of a support network explored. Any safeguarding concerns will be managed in line with our policy and referrer/parents/carers will be informed where it is appropriate to do so.
Whether young people are confident sharing their experiences of loneliness or they find it more difficult to connect initially, that's OK, we can work with them. The connection allows them to find tools and resilience to cope with loneliness.
