Here are just a selection of the many heart-warming stories of friendship, support and satisfaction shared by people with sight loss using the RNIB Telebefriending Service.
Connie's story
Connie is in her 80s and lives in Brighton. Connie has been taking part in a Talk and Support telephone group every week on a Tuesday afternoon since October 2001. That's a remarkable 10 years of talking and supporting. This is what Connie enjoys most about her telephone group:
"Apart from the talking, it's a feeling that everyone gets lots of support. We all have a sight loss. It is easy to talk because we understand one another."
Rosanne's story
Rosanne is in her mid 60s and has been taking part in telebefriending groups for over 6 years. What does Roseanne enjoy most about taking part in her group?
"I enjoy the fact that it's spontaneous. We never know what we are going to talk about because nothing is planned which is good. This makes it very natural."
Madeep's story
Mandeep is 39 and has taken part in his weekly telebefriending group for over 5 years and enjoys the weekly exchange of participant's experiences and advice.
"Hearing about experiences people have had. For example with sports, I was intrigued by blind people playing football but couldn't really understand how they did it. In these groups, you come across people who have actually done that and talk about how they did it."
Brian's story
After taking part in a telebefriending group for six months, Brian feels the group has started to make a real difference to his life.
"It's been absolutely phenomenal. I don't know how I would have got along without it. It's a chance to talk to other people to hear how they are feeling about things."
Diane's story
Diane enjoys telebefriending because it's something different and something that she looks forward to each week.
"You get to chat and talk to different people. They might be people that you don't know, but they're friendly people. We've all got something in common. You know, I just look forward to it each week."
Linda's story
Linda has been taking part in the service for three years now. She enjoys participating every week and the group means a lot to her.
"I've found that it's given me a lot more courage now to go back out and start to do work in the community. And the ladies that make up our little group are really lovely. You feel like you've all known each other for many, many more years than the three years."
Ian's story
Ian says the group is good for him because he doesn't have a lot of friends in his local area.
"It gives me a chance to get to know some new people that are maybe like myself. It gives me a chance to meet other blind people, visually impaired people, from around the country, who obviously I wouldn't get to meet in ordinary circumstances. My favourite part of it is being able to make friends and find out what everyone likes to do. In our group, we all like computers quite a lot, so we are all quite techie and we exchange tips with each other. I just like getting to know people and I like the friendliness of it all. I think it's especially good for people who can't get out very much and don't have much of a social life."
Join a group
To join a group, please email us at talkandsupport@rnib.org.uk or call us on 0845 330 3723 or 020 7391 2218.