October cover story

October’s community magazine is here! On the cover we have Calum, Jodi and Joseph who became friends at our club night. We love friendship at get2gether. Over the years we have seen so many friendships form and blossom at our events. Just take a look back at all of our Friendship Spotlights in the magazines! There’s always an opportunity to meet new people and make friends if you come along to our events.

Calum says “What I like about your Big Nights, out is, having a safe space for my friends who get harassed by staff in other places. I’m here to catch up with my friends l, whom I haven’t seen in a long time. I think this gives them confidence that other places don’t. I get to know them better. I hope for my friends that they find someone who loves them and not feel frustrated, with someone who doesn’t understand them.”

In this year’s Membership Survey, 84% of 61 respondents told us they had made friends through get2gether. But building friendships and keeping them going can be hard. How do you start talking to someone new? What should you do together? What happens when you don’t agree about something? So many things to think about, it can be quite overwhelming.

get2gether’s new Friendship Course aims to answer these questions and many more, helping you to understand the basics of building healthy friendships so that making friends feels a little bit easier.

Over the 6 weeks, the course takes you through the full journey of friendship. We talk about connecting with someone, building trust, understanding what a healthy friendship looks like, holding healthy boundaries, the importance of good communication and what happens when things go wrong. 

“On the course today I learned about connecting with people and what is comfortable and uncomfortable when you meet someone. I feel it will help me as in the past I was guilty of sharing too much information” (January course participant)

The friendly environment on all of get2gether’s courses means that most people who take part say they make friends with other people on the course. When we ran the Friendship course for the first time in January this year, it was no different. 

“We didn’t just make friendships on the course. We were also able to practice skills and build confidence that has helped with friendships outside the course.” (January course participant)

All 9 graduates of the January course told us that what they learned on the course would help them to build healthier friendships.