Meet Connect volunteers

Claire Wynne-Jones

My name is Claire and I have been volunteering for Connect for the last three months. I am qualified as a speech and language therapist but it was hard to find my first job. So, I decided that I would like to volunteer with Connect for one day a week while I looked for my first post within the profession.

My volunteering role at Connect is to help set up and run a befriending project. This means putting people with aphasia in touch with other people with aphasia to have one-to-one conversations and share experiences. People with aphasia often feel isolated and without access to information, so befrienders help people with aphasia find out information and gain confidence in an informal and social way.

With support, my role is to match 'befrienders' and 'befriendees'. This involves interviewing people with aphasia who want a befriender, finding out about them and matching them to someone suitable. Then, I arrange a meeting to introduce them to each other and ensure they both understand what to expect. I also help run the support group meetings for the befrienders. Volunteering at Connect is fantastic because:

• I really enjoy it.
• It means I am still able to use my clinical skills and learn new ones.
• I have learned loads about communicating with people with aphasia which I will always carry with me.
• I can now put on my CV that I have volunteered with Connect, which is a very good thing to be able to do.
• As a speech and language therapist it is necessary to do a certain number of clinical hours to stay registered. Volunteering at Connect counts towards this.
• It helped me find my first job.

I have really enjoyed working for Connect, they are a very positive group of people to work with. They are all very experienced in supporting people with aphasia and it has been invaluable for me to gain skills in communicating with people with aphasia. I was able to make a real difference too. The befriending group was set up in half the time it would have taken the project leader, as I could dedicate all my time to it. It has also benefited people with aphasia as I had time to devote entirely to them and the project.

To find out more about volunteering at Connect, contact Teresa Regan 020 7367 0876 or email teresaregan@ukconnect.org

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