A recent survey found as many as one in five Scots had experienced loneliness within the last seven days – a growing problem the befriending movement is determined to tackle.

Today marks the start of this year’s befriending week – seven days in which many examples of work to renew and create human connections are celebrated across Scotland.

The latest statistics from Befriending Networks – an organisation that, since the 1980s, has provided support, training and guidance to hundreds of befriending projects across the country – show as many as 21,500 people have been helped by befriending in Scotland during 2018-19.

This year – for the first time – the annual Scottish household survey measured loneliness across the country.

Despite the support Befriending Networks offers, one in five adults reported they had experienced loneliness within the past week, with those in the most deprived communities almost twice as likely to experience loneliness as those living in the least deprived areas.

Over one third of individuals with long term health conditions reported feeling lonely – double the number of people without a long-term condition.

Befriending refers to the provision of support and reliable relationships to people who would otherwise be socially isolated, whether that is over the phone, in a group or on-to-one setting.

Nearly 12,000 volunteer befrienders have been supported by Befriending Networks, the annual statistics also show, providing 658,000 hours of support with an estimated total value of £8.28m.

The type of support provided to people experiencing loneliness can vary greatly, from the work of Edinburgh Garden Partners – an organisation that facilitates relationships between older people needing help with their gardens and volunteers keen to dig in but without a space of their own to cultivate – to emotional and practical support for vulnerable families with Home-Start East Lothian.

Befriending Networks hosts its annual conference in Edinburgh next week to showcase the positive impact of befriending, including how innovative technology is being used to support wellbeing and the increasing significance of social prescribing.