Meet Jayne

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I’m Jayne Streak, the Friendship Alliance Project Manager. I work for a local charity, the Link Visiting Scheme, to promote friendship and reduce the impact of loneliness and isolation for older people and my role is funded by Wokingham Borough Council.

We all experience times when we're struggling or not coping as well as we usually do, or where our circumstances and life events make things more difficult and challenging.

This can lead to loneliness and social isolation and the council is supporting the Friendship Alliance to promote friendship and improve the health, wellbeing and independence of older residents across the borough.

About The Friendship Alliance

The Friendship Alliance is an initiative funded by the Better Care Fund that brings together four local non-profit organisations – the Link Visiting Scheme, Age UK Berkshire, Involve Community Services and the Wokingham Volunteer Centre - to develop new ideas to tackle loneliness and improve the mental and physical wellbeing of residents and my role is at the heart of this.

How I help residents

My job is to help get people out and about and active. I have developed a calendar of Friendship Tables where residents can come along, meet new people and make new friends.

We are always looking for community spaces, local cafes and pubs in Wokingham borough to host a Friendship Table on a regular basis. We ask that there is no need to book, there is a warm welcome and always someone to talk to so they must have people to facilitate the session.

The Friendship Tables are to encourage people to sit and have a friendly chat and part of my job is to go out and find suitable places that want to help and support our work.

It is flexible so organisations or groups can let me know a day and time they would like to host a Friendship Table with their volunteers or staff and I then promote the table and venue on our calendar, social media channels, newsletter and website along with referring local people who could benefit.

I also go out and visit existing social groups and activities to find out more about them.

These could be coffee mornings, lunch clubs, exercise classes or craft sessions where newcomers receive a warm and friendly welcome.

These are shared along with other local events on a fortnightly basis via an e-newsletter. You can sign up to my newsletter by emailing me at Jayne@linkvisiting.org and you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Moving with Confidence sessions

I also work with the council’s sport and leisure team on an initiative called Moving with Confidence.

This is where the team carry out an assessment and provide up to six sessions of personalised exercises to residents at home to help them to become more mobile and gain confidence to access the community.

The team can help identify suitable community exercise groups for them to continue to improve their mobility once the initial programme has been completed.

The other services within the Friendship Alliance include: a transport scheme, a gardening scheme, Community Navigation, handyperson’s services and more.

The Friendship Alliance will be working together and flexibly to meet the needs of individuals and enable them to feel part of the community and maintain independence. 

Become a volunteer

The Link Visiting Scheme’s success is built on the massive contribution from their volunteers and I’d encourage anyone thinking of becoming a volunteer to please get in touch.

It is so rewarding and volunteers often say they get as much out of the friendships they make as their "Link Friends”.

To find out about volunteering for the Link Visiting Scheme, contact 0118 979 8019.

Feeling lonely? Get in touch today

If you are feeling lonely and would like to find out more about what’s on in your community and across the borough, contact Jayne from the Friendship Alliance on 07464 834 949.

You can also contact:

• Involve's Community Navigation team on 01344 304404 
• The Link Visiting Scheme on 0118 979 8019 
• Age UK Berkshire on 0118 959 4242