24% of the UK population is disabled. That’s approximately 16 million people. Disabled people are more likely to feel socially isolated and lonely, with 70% of disabled people stating that their mental health is affected by social isolation and 61% being chronically lonely (Scope, 2024).

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Social isolation is caused by a lack of social contact or support, which can be extreme for disabled people who often struggle to access their communities, social activities or support networks. Often care for disabled people is focused on health or personal care, with little consideration given to the immense emotional and social impact of being disabled in a predominantly non-disabled society. Being socially isolated can lead to feeling lonely, which is proven to negatively impact mental health and wellbeing.

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Our mission is to enhance the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of disabled people across the UK by:

• Connecting them with trained volunteer Buddies to offer support, friendship and access to community activities through telephone, online and face-to-face interactions

• Providing coaching and mentoring services to disabled people to help them overcome challenges and barriers to reaching their full potential

• Delivering training and consultancy to employers and organisations to ensure they are creating truly inclusive spaces for disabled people that remove barriers and challenges which prevent them from being able to fully engage

 

We aspire to create a sustainable future for our organisation and want to grow our offering and develop our capabilities, so every donation we receive enables us to achieve that little bit more - from promoting better disability-inclusive practices, to developing outstanding befriending services, to doing all we can to promote awareness and understanding of the challenges disabled people face when it comes to social isolation throughout society more widely. We are a forward-thinking organisation who seek to involve service users in all that we do, so fundraising has a vital role to play in the future of Buddies for All.