Befriend

Befriend is a Perth-based social enterprise with a vision of an inclusive, connected world. At Befriend, we're includers. We live by that thing your Mum always told you; treat others how you'd like to be treated. We believe fostering a culture of inclusion can bring everyone together - and that's what we're creating. Our mission is to break the barriers and social rules that get in the way of making diverse friendships happen. It doesn't matter where you're from, what you do, or what you believe in, Befriend values everyone. When Befriend takes up an initiative, we want to set it up, get out of the way, and let the sparks fly. It’s the people that make friendships happen. Our role is to be practical; to facilitate, organize and foster inclusive environments, where connections form on their own. In pursuit of our vision, we run two projects; the Befriend Social Network, and eFriends. The Befriend Social Network creates opportunities for socially excluded individuals to form new connections, whilst simultaneously influencing a broader cultural change around the inclusion of all individuals as valued, participating members of the community. The network currently has a membership of approximately 2,550 individuals, and empowers people at risk of social exclusion to enhance their social and community participation through regular, localised small-scale social activities. eFriends is a person-centred skill development program that empowers people with the skills and confidence to use technology to strengthen their social and community connections. eFriends has worked with more than 200 individuals, delivering thousands of hours of face-to-face support and training. We also run a series of professional development seminars, to empower community sector staff with the skills and confidence to further empower the people that they support, to connect through technology.