What is telephone friendship?
As we get older, we may find we spend more time on our own. This can sometimes feel lonely, boring or make us miss friends or family.
If you or someone you know is missing the joy of regular conversation, Age UK and our partner charity The Silver Line can help.
We offer free telephone friendship services so you can enjoy chatting with someone over the phone, all from the comfort of your own home.
Whether you’d like to speak to someone every week, or just want to talk when the need strikes, we’re here to help.
How does telephone friendship work?
We have two different telephone friendship services available.
- Regular telephone friendship service. We match over-60s with a friendly volunteer for a weekly chat. Our service has helped create hundreds of new friendships, and many people tell us their calls are the highlight of their week. To get started, just tell us a bit about yourself and we’ll do the rest.
- The Silver Line Helpline, a 24-hour service. Our charity, The Silver Line, is a free confidential telephone service just for older people. We provide people with friendship, conversation and support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Sign up for regular telephone friendship calls
Find out more about The Silver Line helpline
Is our telephone friendship service for you?
Our services are here for people in later life who’d like to talk to someone. You don’t need to be feeling lonely (though if you are, we’d like to help), and you don’t need to live on your own. Sometimes it’s just nice to talk.
To sign up for our regular telephone friendship service, where someone calls each week, you need to:
- be over 60
- have your own landline or mobile phone
- be able to hear and be understood over the phone.
- commit to a regular call at the same time each week.
Is there anyone who can’t use telephone friendship services?
Our telephone friendship services may not be as helpful for people with memory loss, dementia or mental health issues who need a higher level support. These conditions may affect the person’s ability to build a telephone friendship and, in some instances, people with these conditions may actually find the calls more distressing.
If you’re not sure if our telephone friendship services can support you or someone you know, please call 0800 434 6105 to get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help you find the right support.
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