Needed: Volunteers to befriend patients

Volunteers are being sought to offer one-on-one support - "a lifeline" - to people with a mental health condition who live in the community but whose biggest problem is loneliness.

"There is no limit to the number of volunteers needed," said May Caruana, the manager of Mount Carmel Hospital's Community Mental Health Services. Its Volunteer Befriender project is the first recruitment initiative of the sort.

The hospital has a budget to employ more professional staff but they are proving hard to come by and the community department alone is facing a shortage of around eight nurses, four occupational therapists and three doctors. The hospital's requirements are even higher.

While professionals address the assessment, treatment and follow-up of clients, the volunteers' contribution would help support them by freeing them up to focus specifically on the clinical intervention they are specialised in.

Dealing with mental health is no mean feat but volunteers would only be required to have an interest in supporting others, a willingness to listen and establish a genuine partnership, while being aware of the vulnerability of the person they are dealing with.

"We do not need formal qualifications to offer friendship. And people on the receiving end are just that - people, with our same needs," Ms Caruana said.

Volunteers would not be carrying out therapeutic work or expected to care for children and get involved in situations of abuse, violence, alcoholism or other identified risk situations.

"We are talking about different kinds of illnesses, however. The sufferers are well enough to be living at home; they are being followed by professionals to prevent any relapse and they are not a danger. They are just in dire need of friends."

The idea is to help them gain more independence and build confidence, reducing isolation.

"Unfortunately, we constantly observe them losing their self-esteem and slowly being excluded from the daily routine of life. This leads to loss of friendships and social contacts, which is vital for anyone's happiness," Ms Caruana said.

"Much of their pain does not stem from the illness as such but is a result of the loneliness that often accompanies their condition. It is only the volunteers who can help relieve it."

Being somewhat delicate, the work would be carried out under supervision and recruits would be dealing with a coordinator and team leader to ensure, among other things, that confidentiality is observed.

"The stigma surrounding mental health is still strong. Even though most of us would not admit it, we would rather volunteer with more appealing groups, such as children and the elderly," Ms Caruana said, encouraging people to challenge themselves, step out of their comfort zone and befriend someone they would not normally have chosen.