Compassionate Communities Posted or Updated on 29 Oct 2024

CoCo – Hodnet Compassionate Communities

Developed by Severn Hospice as part of their community support strategy, Compassionate Communities (Co Co) schemes aim to provide a befriending service for those folk who may be in danger of becoming socially isolated from the community they have been part of due to frailty, being housebound or living with a long term illness.

Such a person may already have various forms of “help” going into their home via health professionals or other agencies, but can still find themselves feeling lonely after these brief functional calls. What they really need is someone to talk to, someone with time to listen.

A Co Co volunteer can provide this companionship by regular visiting on a weekly basis.

Volunteers do not provide personal care, but rather companionship and a willingness to help the person to live their lives more fully in ways appropriate to them. This could be chatting about local news, playing Scrabble, doing a bit of gardening, attending an appointment together.

Volunteers are trained and DBS checked, and wherever possible share some of their client's interests. Hodnet Co Co receives referrals through the Practice, via other community groups or agencies where our publicity is displayed or simply through an individual making contact with us themselves. The aim is to cover the area served by the medical practice, which extends well beyond Hodnet itself into outlying rural areas and villages.

We value any opportunities to spread the word about our existence and raise our profile. We have posters in the waiting room, our flyers are available at Reception and we have a page on the village website too:  www.hodnet.org.uk/coco

Our phone number is: 07849 835687