In December 2021, Trefoil awarded an organisational grant amounting to £5,000 to Positive Help to support the costs of their befriending service for children and young people in Edinburgh and Lothians who are living with, or are affected by a parent with, HIV or Hepatitis C.
Positive Help is a registered Scottish charity based in Edinburgh offering help to individuals and families affected by HIV and Hepatitis C. The charity was established 1989 in response to requests for day to day help from those living with HIV in the Edinburgh area. Since then, their services have developed to meet the evolving needs of service users and service demands.
Positive Help’s befriending service matches a young person with a dedicated befriender who provides the individual a trusted adult to speak with and participate in days out and activities that give them an opportunity to take time away from their day to day lives. The aim of the service is to increase the confidence and resilience of children and young people and support the development of their social skills and coping mechanisms.
“[J’s] social skills are getting much better and mixing easy with other kids. His progress over the last couple of years is huge.”
Over the year following the grant award, Positive Help supported 21 children with a befriender, including three new referrals and conducted 264 befriending sessions.
The support from volunteers is greatly valued to facilitate the running of the befriending service and in the 12 months after the award, volunteers gave a total of 1161 hours.
“For [E] to talk and express her feelings is really nice. To have an outlet during the sessions, helps her accept changes and circumstances”
The grant award and time given by dedicated volunteers to support the befriending service has been positively received with 88% of family members and other professionals involved in the care of befriended children and young people reporting a positive change in self-esteem, resilience, or another key life skill.
Trefoil are delighted that the grant award has supported Positive Help’s important work assisting befriended children and young people and it is great to hear that 90% of children and young people receiving befriending have reported improvements in their mental or physical well-being.