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Thinking of becoming a YOPEY Befriender?

Hear from young people who became YOPEY Befrienders

“I would encourage others to get involved because it helps young people contribute to their wider communities and learn how to provide compassion and patience to people you may not even know.”
Cece, aged 18

“I created a video of a music therapy session that YOPEY sent to care homes. I received a letter of gratitude from two women from a care home across the country. I felt I had really made a difference.”
Kasey edited YOPEY Virtual Variety Shows, aged 19

“I’m very excited to have received a reply to one of my letters. I also couldn’t believe that the reply came from a fellow sport-loving person.”

Lucy, aged 14 and a keen competitive swimmer

“I believe compassion, time management, dedication and consistency are all required qualities. I have definitely improved these skills during my time as a YOPEY Befriender.”
Sixteen-year-old Riya

“Being a YOPEY Befriender is a good way to gain both social and emotional resilience. These are skills that are extremely important in medical fields such as nursing or paramedics.”
Matt visited a care home in Nottingham when he was aged 16-17

How the experience enhanced their lives and careers

“I wanted to do medicine before I became a YOPEY Befriender, but the experience helped to assure me that medicine was what I wanted to do. Me and a friend visited a resident in the care home very often as she loved to have a chat. We didn’t mind that we would have the same conversations. The experience helped me a lot. My grandma lived with my family before she died. As she was getting older, I could see the parallels between the resident and my grandma. It was easier for me to handle the change than my parents as I had witnessed it before.” 

Zara, doctor.

“I really enjoyed the experience. I remember the lady I was paired with telling me all about her children that didn’t visit her. It made me feel really sad. But it also made me feel happy as I was visiting her and she was not all alone. The experience helped me develop interpersonal skills, communication, patience and listening skills, regardless of hearing the same stories again and again. All useful skills to my chosen career.” 

Serena, barrister

“The skills I acquired as a YOPEY Befriender have been invaluable in both my personal and professional lives. I’ve since had a relative diagnosed with dementia, and my time spent at the care home has really helped me to understand their condition. I now work in a healthcare setting, and I feel the benefits of YOPEY with every patient I encounter. The ability to speak easily to a variety of people, from different backgrounds, is undoubtedly the biggest skill I gained.” 

Sofia, GP practice manager

“YOPEY exposed me to a lot of very important skills that you don’t necessarily learn through academia. I gained a deeper understanding of the care of the elderly and the impact dementia has on people and their families. Being able to communicate with someone with dementia is a daunting task, but one that I got quite comfortable with. Being able to listen patiently and recognise when a resident is becoming distressed is definitely a skill I learnt. All of these skills can be applied to other aspects of life, whether on a personal or professional level, and are therefore very important.” 

Elizabeth, children’s nurse

More reviews by YOPEY Befrienders

“First time meeting the wonderful residents and putting our training to good use! They even gave us cupcakes!”

Sophie, age 16, from East Norfolk Sixth Form College

“I spoke to Ron about his experience in the war, also about his dogs and pets he had. He also kindly told me about his wife and his experience in earlier life.”
Ava, age 17, from East Norfolk Sixth Form College

“Met some of the residents and had some lovely chats and got to know them and their hobbies.”
Kaitlin, age 18, from East Norfolk Sixth Form College

“I had a great first visit at St Augustine’s Place! I was able to meet residents and get to know them. We sat at a table and they talked about their lives for example what jobs they had and family and their hobbies. They were all lovely and very chatty! I spoke to Cynthia, a resident, with my friend most of the time and we got to know a lot about her family and her life which was very interesting and rewarding! ”
Chloe, age 16, from East Norfolk Sixth Form College

“I talked with Sylvia about her hobbies and her life in the care home. We also talked about her time working in the Birdseye Factory and working for the British Red Cross. It was a pleasure to meet her.”
Brooke, age 16, from East Norfolk Sixth Form College

“Introductory dementia training: we disproved stereotypes and people’s perceptions of dementia and went over safeguarding rules along with receiving our snazzy lanyards!”
Sophie, age 16, from East Norfolk Sixth Form College

“I absolutely loved meeting the residents as it was so lovely to hear about their lives,even if it was only for a short while. The dementia training was very good and helpful and using us students in the scenarios helped us have a better understanding.”
Mia, age 17, from East Norfolk Sixth Form College