New support groups open in Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham
Three new support groups will be giving residents in Redbridge and Barking and Dagenham who may be lonely and isolated an opportunity to meet and make new friends.
OrangeLine, the confidential telephone service at Saint Francis Hospice, has set up two more of their Friendly Faces groups for bereaved people so they can reach out to more people in Barking and Dagenham who have lost a loved one and would like to connect with other people in a similar position.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Friendly Faces will meet every fortnight for brunch at the Pipe Major in 1 Yew Tree Avenue, Dagenham on a Friday from 10am to 12 noon. The next meeting will take place on Friday 31st October.
- Friendly Faces will meet at the Chadwell Heath and Whalebone Hub in London Road, Chadwell Health, RM6 6AS, from 2pm to 4pm on the third Monday of every month, starting from Monday 17th November.
OrangeLine also identified that carers needed a space to connect, share and have something to look forward to for themselves - in recognition of all they give to others. This led to the service setting up a Carers Support Group in Redbridge.
- The Carers Corner Support Group meets once a month on a Thursday morning from 10am to 11.30am at 1856 Cafe, Hainault Forest, 3 Fox Burrow Road, Ilford, IG7 4QN. The first meeting takes place on Thursday 6th November. Parking: Blue badge parking free of charge, otherwise Redbridge hourly parking charges apply.
“We are delighted to offer three new groups in our catchment areas of Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge,” said Karen Freeman, OrangeLine Project Manager.
“We find it's the connections with others that our clients yearn for and thrive on. Whilst not being classed as a 'Therapeutic' service, the impact of bringing people together can be life changing.
“We simply provide the opportunity to bring people together and once connected, they work through their struggles with people they feel safe amongst - many of whom will become new friends offering lifelines as they navigate their way to a future that they previously could not visualise.”
These new groups will run alongside 6 well-established groups across Havering and Brentwood that meet regularly and are run by specially trained volunteers. A further three groups in Barking and Dagenham are expected to open in the coming months.
“That evidences to us that these groups are integral to people experiencing loss of identity and uncertainty about their future,” said Karen.
“To our knowledge there are about 12 different groups of friends who met at one of our bereavement groups - some of them pre-covid - that are still meeting on a weekly basis.
“We see people tentatively arriving on their first visit, from saying nothing whilst in the group and after a few weeks rising to finding their confidence, their voice and their new place in society.
Many will take the group into a friendship circle and a self-supporting network which allows the OrangeLine team to take a step back and plant new groups for new people in need of the service.”
To find out more call
