“It’s 9pm and someone is crying on the phone. The person is a complete stranger and it’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever speak to them again. They want to share what they feel is their hopeless situation with me. They’ve hinted that they might even want to kill themselves.” A Saturday night experience for a Samaritan Listening volunteer. Or could be on a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday – any time they are on shift. This Saturday, 25 August, Swindon Samaritans are opening their doors to potential volunteers.
It’s not just in a ‘Listening’ role that a volunteer can play a valuable part. Whilst being one the end of a phone is what Samaritans are known for, the phones need to be operational, funds need to be raised, computers need to be kept running: there are a wide range of skills and experiences that Samaritans need from their volunteer supporters so that there is someone there to answer and listen when the phone rings.
“We need your help” explained Maggie Gill of Swindon Samaritans. ”We are always seeking dependable people willing to donate some of their valuable time to help us at Swindon & District Samaritans” she added, explaining that anyone interested can come and visit the offices in Curtis St, Swindon on Saturday morning (25 August) between 10am and mid-day, but asks that you either call (01793 526430) or e-mail samsrecruitment@btconnect.com to register your interest so that someone can be there to discuss how best you can help.
‘So why is this person calling me, reaching out to another human and being more open than they have ever been with anyone else? What do they expect from me? Well to be honest you don’t know, you rarely know. But what you do know is that you will listen patiently, confidentially and without judgement. You will provide them with human contact in a time of crisis. That crisis could be almost anything: mental illness, physical health, divorce, bereavement, loneliness. It really doesn’t matter.
And I love it. It’s allowed me to be more patient, to focus on the underlying emotional needs of people and to know that I’m helping people. I feel this helps with my own personal wellbeing and resilience and allows me to live a meaningful life.”
That’s the story from one of Swindon’s volunteers, maybe at some point in the not too distant future you could write your own too….