Sarajane is a volunteer befriender with @alone.ireland - this is her story... #WeAct “It’s just having a chat for an hour or so, but it’s so powerful. Covid really made it very apparent that life is all about having connections with people, so to be able to help someone with that, I’m getting just as much out of it. Alone was always been a charity that I would have been drawn towards. Loneliness is an epidemic anyway in our society, but with the thought of being alone in your later years, I really wanted to volunteer a bit of my time. And then Covid hit, it really triggered me to go and do it. They try to match you with someone who has similar interests, and if you choose, someone who lives close to you. I meet the lady I visit weekly. It’s meant to be for an hour but I love the chats, so it always ends up being more like an hour and a half! She’s a lovely woman. She’s told me a lot about her life, we’ve started looking at old photos, she’s been to absolutely every country. She’s a really chatty person which is great – we have a giggle, chat a bit about music, just talk about life really. I don’t think people are aware, Alone is an amazing support system, they’ve so much knowledge, they can be there to help you navigate other issues. Having that extra help and support, it makes all the difference. Being a befriender has been great. I’ve loved spending time with her and hearing all her stories. It’s been brilliant really to have this connection with someone I never knew. She’s told me a few times that she really looks forward to me coming over. Her daughter has told me that it’s had a big impact on her life and I get shivers when I think of that. Because it’s something so small, really it’s just sitting there, listening. But it’s impacting her life and it’s brightening her week. To get to meet new people, it’s a lovely way to volunteer. It enriches your life. I feel very lucky that we’ve met and that we get on so well. It does develop into a real friendship, now we’re just two people getting together for a cup of tea and a chat.”