‘We’ve become like family’
Olive Parfitt and Fiona Woodhouse have never met, but they’ve found friendship and support in each other, thanks to a telephone befriending service
Every Monday at 6.30pm, two ladies separated by hundreds of miles away and two decades eagerly wait for the phone to ring. These women have never met but as soon as they pick up the phone, they burst into excited conversation about their week and their family, always punctuated with lots of giggles. Fiona Woodhouse (54) a volunteer befriender for the charity The Silver Line, has been phoning Olive Parfitt (74) since Olive first turned to The Silver Line when she was struggling to cope in November 2014. “I was living on my own after I separated from my husband of 45 years. I knew I had to sell the house and I’d just had a hip operation,” says Olive. “I was trying to fill in a form to get some help and I just couldn’t do it. It was just one too many things in my life and I crumbled. It was the middle of the night and I felt desperate. That’s when I tried The Silver Line and, between sobs, the lady there gave me some advice. It was so nice having someone to speak to and when I rang back later to ask something, they suggested having a telephone companion.” From there, Olive was meticulously matched with The Silver Line volunteer Fiona who had become involved in the charity after her own parents, who she used to speak to regularly on the phone, had passed away and she felt she wanted to give back. After one 90-minute telephone training session, Fiona made her first call to Olive using a virtual call centre that means neither party ever knows the other’s telephone number to keep everything safe and confidential. “They matched me very well with Olive as we both have the same sense of humour and it was great to find we immediately had lots to talk about. My purpose is not to be a counsellor but to listen and take an interest, which I really enjoy doing. “Olive has had a lot of changes in her life, as have I, and I think we’ve supported each other. It’s become like speaking to a family member,” says Fiona. Olive says Fiona has been a huge help. “I can talk to her about anything and she’s so caring. I’m so grateful for what she’s done for me and now often mention the service to other people I know who are on their own.”
‘I feel I can talk to Fiona about anything and she’s so caring’