Boston and Surrounding Areas

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Welcome to Boston Good Neighbour Scheme

Good Neighbour Schemes are run by local volunteers who provide day to day support for other residents who may need help on an occasional or regular basis. For older people, this support may enable them to live independently in their own homes and communities for longer and reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Here in Boston, we can help everyone with:

Collecting essential shopping
Local errands
Practical support
A friendly chat
Anything else, just ask!

To register your interest as a community volunteer and find opportunities near you, sign up or log in today

Good Neighbour Schemes - Helping Your Community

Supported by Boston Borough Council’s Empowering Healthy Communities Programme

A community project bringing people together

Training and support provided by YMCA Lincolnshire

Proudly funded by The National Lottery Community Fund

What is a Good Neighbour Scheme?

Good Neighbour Schemes are community projects run and delivered by groups of local volunteers. Whilst potentially benefiting the whole community, they are aimed primarily at helping elderly, disabled, vulnerable, frail or isolated people. Help is given to those in need free of charge although a reasonable charge is usually made for transport mileage.

What can you help with?

Good Neighbour Schemes respond to the needs of local people by providing help with activities such as:

Befriending, home visiting, companionship, someone to go to social events with
Dog walking and caring for pets during holiday or illness
Errands and shopping
Filling in forms, writing letters, reading and help to use computers and the internet
Gardening
Giving lifts to a GP surgery, clinic, hospital, Day Centre, other appointments
Household tasks including tuning televisions, changing light bulbs and smoke alarms
Moving furniture, taking down and hanging curtains and pictures

It is about local people helping their neighbours to enjoy a better quality of life. Good Neighbour Schemes help create an environment where people feel safe and secure because they have genuine connection with one another.

How do I request help?

At the moment we’re focussing on recruiting volunteers. As soon as we’re able we’ll launch an online request form which you’ll be able to complete to request help for yourself or on someone else's behalf (with their permission) if they're living in the Boston area. The request form will be available on this page so watch this space!

How do I become a Good Neighbour?

If you would like to offer your time and support to help your neighbours, sign up and join our group today by clicking on one of the green buttons on this page. Once you're registered you'll be able to see open requests in your area. You can choose to accept as many or as few as you like, whatever suits you - we're grateful for every contribution.

Volunteer with us!

Join us to help your neighbours. Just let us know when, where and how you can help. You can choose to help a little, or to help a lot! We're grateful for every contribution.

Thanks for being part of Boston and Surrounding Areas. Click below to view help requests.

Useful Links

Boston Borough Council - Your local council homepage

YMCA Community Page - Find out more about community projects supported by YMCA Lincolnshire

Empowering Healthy Communities Programme - Find out more about the Boston Borough Council health and wellbeing initiative designed to support residents during and beyond Covid-19.

Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service - Use LCVS’s resources to help you get the most out of volunteering

Other ways to access support in Boston:

Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire - Get support for older people in Lincoln and Lincolnshire

Boston Foodbank - Find out how to get help from the Boston foodbank

Centrepoint Outreach - Supporting people who are homeless, lonely and vulnerable

Citizens Advice Mid Lincolnshire - Free, confidential and impartial advice

Wellbeing Lincs - Wellbeing Lincs is a countywide service that can provide more specialist support and a personal support plan.

“Impressive„

Community Lincs provided the spark that ignited interest in setting-up our Good Neighbour Scheme and has provided ongoing support from initial consultation with the local community through presentations, networking with existing organisations and co-ordinating a community survey to the formation of a constituted group with policies, procedures and a bespoke IT system culminating in a fully operational scheme. The breadth of support provided has been particularly impressive.

GNS Volunteer

“New friendships„

It’s wonderful to hear from local people who have already made new connections and friendships thanks to the Good Neighbour Schemes. We are proud to be funding Community Lincs so it can continue to build on this success, helping more people tap into this support and feel less isolated. Thanks to National Lottery players, these Good Neighbour Schemes will bring communities together, empowering them to thrive.

Matt Poole, Senior Head of Funding for the Midlands at The National Lottery Community Fund

“People who really care„

I couldn’t manage without my Good Neighbours. I have used the service mainly for transport, but the support and friendship is fantastic. It makes a huge difference knowing there are people there who really care.

Good Neighbour Scheme Service User

“Coffee mornings„

I really like attending the good neighbour coffee mornings; I have met lots of new people and made friends.

GNS Service User

“Best thing to happen in this area for many a year„

Our Good Neighbour Scheme is the best thing to happen in this area for many a year. It gives me peace of mind that there is always someone to help with my many regular trips to various clinics, and I really enjoy the regular visits from my befriender. Little things such as making telephone calls on my behalf make such a difference.

GNS Service User

“Very rewarding„

The benefits for myself have been very rewarding - meeting new people and learning new skills.

GNS Volunteer

“One of the best things I have done„

GNS is one of the best things I have done in my life, despite taking considerable effort and time to organise and manage. Without Community Lincs our Good Neighbour Scheme would not have been organised. Neither would it have been so confident and competent. Community Lincs are our people to go to for support and information; we would feel lost without them.

Good Neighbour Scheme Volunteer

“My days are much brighter now„

My days are much brighter now that my GNS volunteer visits me, as I used to be quite lonely. They also help me get to my hospital appointments, as my family live a long way away.

GNS Service User

About HelpMyStreet.org

HelpMyStreet.org was created to help people volunteering to support their communities through the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, we’ve partnered with a number of organisations to make volunteering and finding volunteers simple, safe and effective for everyone.

We are a non-profit community interest company - founded by a healthcare analytics and digital company - that wanted to make a difference during the pandemic and beyond.

Volunteer with us!

Join us to help your neighbours. Just let us know when, where and how you can help. You can choose to help a little, or to help a lot! We're grateful for every contribution.

Thanks for being part of Boston and Surrounding Areas. Click below to view help requests.