Company and a Chat

Suffolk Sight is a charity which aims to improve the lives of people affected by sight loss, throughout Suffolk. They host social clubs and group activities across the county, offering an informal, friendly space for people to connect with others and make new friends within the Suffolk Sight community. As a member of Suffolk Sight, you can join any of their associated clubs. Follow the link for a list of meetings held in towns and villages across Suffolk.  Suffolk Sight also has DBS checked, registered befrienders who are carefully matched to offer friendship and support, and can make regular phone calls or visits.

Care UK are running a monthly Free Carers Café  for those living with Dementia and their carers on the first Tuesday of the month. Taking place from 11am – 12.30pm at the Hartismere Place Care Home, Eye IP23 7DD. A welcoming place to meet like-minded people, make new friends and share experiences along with complimentary refreshments. . To find out more or to book to attend call 01379 888 483 or email angela.hodge@careuk.com

Women Like Me is an organisation striving to be there for women who need some informal help and support, and a place to connect with others. A Place To Be Wellbeing Garden Sessions run on Monday mornings in Lowestoft and Wednesday mornings in Southwold. Waveney Women’s Wanderers is a twice weekly women (and well behaved dogs) only walking group, and Garden Angels are teams of volunteers who work their magic clearing and tidying women’s gardens. They are always looking for volunteers. If you’d like to get in touch or want more info, email Claire and the team.

If you find yourself on your own quite a bit and could do with some company and a chat, or you’re new to your local area and would like to get to know people, then why not give MeetUpMondays a go? Pubs and cafes across the county which are part of the network have a weekly warm welcome and a free cuppa waiting for anyone on their own. They don’t always take place on a Monday, they are taking place on other days throughout the week. Find your nearest host venue by entering you postcode on our interactive map

Do you have some time to spare that could make a real difference? If so, The Befriending Scheme would like to hear from you as they are looking for volunteers who can connect and bring friendship to someone who needs it. A simple act of kindness that can be with a regular phone call or face to face. If you like to find out more contact: 01787 371333.

Men’s Breakfast Hub from ActivLives offers a friendly supportive community space for men aged 45+ to meet up and share an informal chat as well as enjoying a bacon roll. Taking place on Mondays 10am – 12pm Grove Court Care Home 15 Beech Way, Woodbridge IP12 4BW and Wednesdays 10am-12pm CRESS Pavilion, Halifax Road, Ipswich, IP2 8RE – £7 per session. The hub is a good way to link to many other ActivLives activities. For more information contact Alison on 01473 345350 or email her.

Coffee Crawl Coffee Mornings from the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust are open to all service users, their families, and carers to get together in a relaxed environment to share lived experience and support each other whilst enjoying a cuppa.  The Coffee Crawl meets on Wednesday morning from 10.30am – 12pm and visit a different coffee shop in the Ipswich area each week. To view the locations click on the image below or visit the NSFT website 

The Silver Line is Age UK’s free, confidential helpline for older people across the UK. It provides friendship, conversation and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  They also offer a Telephone Friendship Service, matching volunteers with older people based on their interests,  plus facilitated group calls. Download the Here To Chat – pdf to share with someone and for information on the Silver Line services or call Silver Line on 0800 4 70 80 90, and the Telephone Friendship service on 0800 434 6105.

Suffolk Night Owls is an evening emotional support service run by Suffolk Mind and available by telephone, text or email. Experienced staff will be there to listen and provide impartial support to you and any information needed. The telephone support line is open 7 nights a week from 7pm to 1am. Find out more about how you can register for this service on the Suffolk Mind website or call the enquiry line on 0300 111 6000. Once registered the Suffolk Night Owls contact number will be provided.

If you are 75+ and would really benefit from some much-needed companionship, Re-engage can help.  Their volunteer ‘Call Companions’ are on hand to listen and chat on a regular basis.  For more details on this service  call Re-engage on 0800 716 543 (All calls are free) or visit their website 

If you have a question or need support Independent Age’s friendly helpline advisors are here to listen, and there are specialist advisors who can call you back for something a bit more complicated. They can help with advice on a variety of subjects including applying for benefits and other entitlements home care and support, health and housing issues and more. The service is free and they and have a range of free guides and factsheets they can send you.  Tel: 0800 319 6789

YANA have a Live helpline to provide immediate support from a member of YANA’s experienced helpline team.  The helpline is active  every Monday – Friday from 10am – 1pm and their ‘Out of hours support’ is available via their Callback Service. You can access YANA’s help by calling 0300 323 0400 or by emailing helpline@yanahelp.org.

THE OUTHOUSE offers a tailored Trans+ support service throughout Suffolk and North East Essex for individuals aged 16+ across multiple formats. The Outhouse aims to provide and advocate for safe and inclusive spaces for everyone from the LGBTQ+ community, offering services such as socials and peer support, special events, tailored support and counselling including support for carers/family, LGBTQ+ training and hate incident reporting. For more information on the service contact trans.support@theouthouse.org.uk or call The Outhouse on 01206 871394.