Dementia Support Line
Mental wellbeing
We all face adversity at times and can feel the effects on our mental health. Alzheimer's Society strives to support our volunteers through difficult times. Find out what’s available for you when things get tough, including Bupa’s 24/7 support line.
Any volunteer can access a free and confidential helpline and online self-help tools, provided by Bupa, should they wish to do so. The details of both are below:
The helpline
Call 0800 269 616, day or night, 24/7, for a free and entirely confidential chat.
Talk to a Bupa counsellor about any worries or practical issues before they become bigger problems. You can speak to a Bupa counsellor, day or night, about anything - there really is no wrong reason to call. This includes, but is no means limited to:
After listening to you, the counsellor may provide immediate support over the phone or signpost you to further support options, which may include arranging for you to have a limited number of counselling sessions. These may be face to face or over the phone.
^Please note, information only services, such as legal and financial specialist helplines, will only provide factual information and signposting to help you make an informed decision. They cannot provide regulated advice which would need to be sourced separately.
Bupa won’t tell us or anyone else that you’ve called, unless they think you, or someone else, may be at risk and are legally obliged to do so. Should this be the case, they’ll do everything they can to talk this through with you first
Self-help information and tools
Visit bupa.com/eaponline for free, unlimited access to helpful factsheets and practical tools that can help you prevent or manage future issues or catch problems before they get worse.
Easily accessible information
You can scan the QR code below and save a digital wallet card to your personal device, so you have all of the details about this service easily to hand.
We’ve put together a list of external organisations who offer support which you may find helpful. It’s not exhaustive but you may find using it makes it easier or quicker to find or access the support you need.
Alzheimer’s Society has a number of policies and guidance designed to keep all of our people safe and well. You can find several which might feel particularly relevant to your mental wellbeing in the Volunteer Documents section on this portal.
If these don’t cover what you’re looking for, speak with your volunteer manager or our Volunteering Experience team (volunteeringsupport@alzheimers.org.uk) and they’ll be able to tell you what other policies and guidance are available.
It is important you feel confident, valued and equipped to carry out your role within the Society and understand the impact and difference you make to people living with dementia. It can make a big difference to your sense of wellbeing. Your volunteer manager is there to help make sure this happens. Whilst it won’t necessarily be appropriate or possible they act as a counsellor or adviser for you in the event you have particular concerns or worries unrelated to your volunteering (it is beyond the scope of their role), they will check how you are doing on both an informal and more regular basis.
Formal support meetings sit alongside the more frequent and informal conversations mentioned above that you will have with your volunteer manager. They are an opportunity for you both to discuss how you are doing and how your volunteering is going. Although individual in nature, support meetings will tend to cover areas such as recognition and thanks for the impact that you have, updates with national and local news, how you’re feeling about your volunteering and any aspirations or ideas you have for other ways in which you could get involved and so on. They are also a great opportunity for you both to talk about your wellbeing and any concerns or issues you may have.
If you’re not sure when your next support meeting is happening, ask your volunteer manager.
The Volunteer Advisory Panel (VAP) is a strategic group of 12 volunteers who are able to aid the Society’s thinking around volunteer engagement and the volunteering experience. 2 members of the VAP are designated as Wellbeing Leads. Their role is to assist our thinking around how best we can support the wellbeing of all volunteers.
To support you with your wellbeing, you are welcome to complete optional elearning, via MYVLearning. Topics you might find useful include:
You’ll need to email elearning@alzheimers.org.uk and ask for the modules to be assigned to your MYV-Learning account or you can ask your volunteer manager to do it on your behalf. You can find your MYV-Learning account on this portal.