Episode 8

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Published on:

20th Aug 2024

Listening to save a life

This episode of Volunteering Discovery delves into the role of volunteers in health and social care, specifically focusing on the Samaritans in King's Lynn. Volunteers Michael and Bridget share insights on the recruitment process, training, and the emotional impact of volunteering, emphasizing the importance of empathy and listening skills. The episode also highlights support systems for volunteers and the profound personal benefits of their work.

To find out more about volunteering with the Samaritans visit https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/volunteer/

Visit the Volunteering Discovery page at https://improvinglivesnw.org.uk/get-involved/volunteering/volunteering-discovery-podcast/ or contact us using jules.alderson@nhs.net

Volunteering Discovery is a Hospital Radio Norwich production for Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System.

Transcript
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Sarah (host): Hello and welcome to Volunteering Discovery.

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This is a podcast which takes you behind the scenes of volunteering in health

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and social care in Norfolk and Waveney.

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Volunteers enhance the experience of people accessing health and social

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care in a huge variety of ways.

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In our hospitals, our communities and even from the comfort of their own homes.

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In each podcast, we'll be hearing from those who give their

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time supporting others and the people who work alongside them.

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I'm your host, Sarah, a volunteer coordinator working in the NHS.

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Trigger warning.

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In today's episode, we'll discuss subjects including death by suicide,

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which some listeners may find distressing.

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Please consider if this episode is right for you and take care whilst listening.

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According to a public health audit, suicide in Norfolk, 2022, around 90 people

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died by suicide in Norfolk each year.

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Men are more likely to die from suicide, with rates being highest in middle

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aged men and women and older men.

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Suicide is a complex issue with many factors faced by those at

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risk, including mental health, physical health, bereavement and

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adverse experiences, to name a few.

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We met with volunteers from a local branch of the national law organisation,

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Samaritans, to find out what support they offer to people in distress,

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including those at risk of suicide.

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We opened our discussion with Michael, who introduced us to the Samaritans and why he

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got involved with the King's Lynn branch.

Michael:

My name is Michael.

Michael:

I've been with the Samaritans since 2015.

Michael:

My role is one of the Deputy Directors, which sounds quite

Michael:

posh, but in fact it just means I'm part of the management team.

Michael:

We have half a dozen Deputy Directors.

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Each of them is responsible for specific areas of the branch.

Michael:

My involvement is with training, with mentoring new people, um, and also with

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looking after what we call outreach, which is when we actually move out from

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the branches to meet people outside.

Michael:

Samaritans was founded in 1953 by a vicar, although we're

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not a religious organization.

Michael:

He was called upon to conduct the funeral service for a 14 year old

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girl who'd taken her own life.

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If she'd had somebody to, she could have talked to, she might still be alive.

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And then he thought, well, can't just be her, there must be lots of other

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people, also, who are distressed, depressed, or suicidal, but have got

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nobody to whom they can, they can speak.

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He thought, well, they could talk to me.

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And then he set up Samaritans.

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That's how it started.

Michael:

Basically, we're there to listen.

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We're a listening organization.

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We don't solve people's problems for them.

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If somebody rings us and says they have this problem or that problem, we would

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never say, well, I think what you should do is such and such and such and such.

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What we will do is we're trained to ask lots of questions so we can help

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the caller work out for themselves a solution to their problem.

Michael:

When I retired from full time work, I thought I wanted to take

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up some voluntary work, and I started working in the food bank.

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But I found that although that was interesting, and indeed I'm still a

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volunteer with the food bank, it didn't provide enough activity for me, so I

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looked around for something else to do.

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And I was talking to one of the ladies at the food bank, and she had been

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a Samaritan of the Norwich branch.

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We talked about it, and I thought, well, that sounds interesting,

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so I decided then to apply.

Michael:

So I did apply, went through the whole of the recruitment and selection.

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and training process.

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And here I am nine years later as a smarton.

Michael:

Sarah (host): Nine years on from getting started volunteering himself,

Michael:

we asked Michael to tell us about the recruitment process for new volunteers.

Michael:

Given the nature of the role, we were keen to understand how the

Michael:

organization prepares its volunteers to safely start taking calls.

Michael:

Well, it's prolonged and it's very thorough, and it has to be, because

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we're dealing with very vulnerable people.

Michael:

You know, if we pick up a phone and somebody says, I'm standing on a bridge,

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I hate life, and I'm going to jump.

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At that moment, we've got that person's life in our hands.

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What we say may or may not decide whether they live.

Michael:

The training is about a nine month program.

Michael:

It starts by you applying to samaritans.

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org.

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You'll be sent an application form, which you fill in.

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That's then scrutinized and sent to the branch of Samaritans, of which there are

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201 in the country, nearest to your home.

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They will then invite you for an interview, which is

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conducted by two Samaritans.

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And I would describe it as gently probing.

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It's not a high pressure interview, but it does seek to find out a lot about you.

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If you pass that interview, then you'll be invited to undertake the formal

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training, which starts with an all day session on a Sunday, followed by six three

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hour sessions on consecutive Wednesdays, followed by another all day session.

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You'll be allocated a mentor.

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And he or she is an experienced Samaritan who will be with you

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then for the next few months.

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You'll then go into the duty room and undertake some live calls,

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real calls with real people.

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But the first shift that you do, and our shifts are three hours or four hours, the

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call will be handled by the mentor and the trainee will listen in on an earpiece.

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At the end of that first call, they'll put the phone down, they'll talk about it, and

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then the mentor will take a second call.

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And the whole of that first shift will be the mentor taking calls.

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Then the second shift, within a week, again it will start with the mentor

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taking calls, but after a while the mentor will say to the mentee, and

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this is the heart bumping moment, right, you take the next call.

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So the mentee takes the call with the mentor now listening on the

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earpiece, scribbling notes and giving guidance and advice to them

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as to how they can handle the call.

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That process goes on for about three months.

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The exact duration depends entirely on how the mentor thinks the mentee is doing.

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But there will then come a point where the mentor will say, OK, I

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think you're now ready to fly solo.

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You no longer need a mentor with you.

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The mentor will then discuss that with the branch director, and if he agrees, then

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the mentee becomes a provisional Samaritan and can book shifts, take calls without

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having anybody listening in to them.

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And that process continues for six months.

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Sarah (host): Knowing that completing the training would offer a great

Michael:

deal of preparation, we asked one of Michael's fellow volunteers,

Michael:

Bridget, to share her experiences getting started with the Samaritans.

Bridget:

Hi, my name is Bridget.

Bridget:

I have been with the Samaritans for four years now as a volunteer.

Bridget:

What that means for me is I am somebody that listens to people that ring in.

Bridget:

to the Samaritans.

Bridget:

So I take calls.

Bridget:

I also have a couple of other roles in our Samaritans branch now too.

Bridget:

I manage the Twitter account.

Bridget:

It's now known as X as we know, but that's one of my responsibilities.

Bridget:

I am also a Samaritans leader and what that means is I'm now somebody that is

Bridget:

able to listen to Samaritans volunteers that have completed a shift and need

Bridget:

to talk to somebody at the end of it.

Bridget:

So yeah, those are my responsibilities.

Bridget:

I think what was interesting for me joining Samaritans or certainly wanting

Bridget:

to volunteer is that some of it wasn't.

Bridget:

necessarily planned, but I have been working in my job for over a decade,

Bridget:

although it paid the bills, was functional in that respect, it was

Bridget:

flexible, it worked around my children.

Bridget:

It just didn't give me a sort of sense of value and a sense of purpose.

Bridget:

I didn't feel as though I was making a difference.

Bridget:

Something was kind of missing in my heart in terms of feeling like I was

Bridget:

Contributing really and and getting getting that good feeling that I think

Bridget:

some people do get out of their paid work that was something that was just

Bridget:

sitting with me I wasn't doing anything about it and then a lady in our village

Bridget:

died unexpectedly she was fairly young she was in her fifties she had a family

Bridget:

I went to her funeral as a neighbor her husband made an amazing address during her

Bridget:

funeral and he spoke about the fact that.

Bridget:

His wife had volunteered for Samaritans.

Bridget:

In that very moment, I realized that there was a branch that was not too

Bridget:

far away, that a mum, like me, in our village had made that journey with her

Bridget:

family, you know, at times, and been able to make a difference for others.

Bridget:

Just had this sort of defining moment where I thought, that's

Bridget:

something that I would love to do.

Bridget:

I came home and I thought to myself, I don't think I could do that.

Bridget:

You know, I, I think I had a moment where I was questioning myself.

Bridget:

Then I remembered how much was missing in my work, how right

Bridget:

since some of my earliest years I've always wanted to help others.

Bridget:

I just decided to apply.

Bridget:

Yeah, I'm here now volunteering and so pleased that, that, that I am.

Bridget:

I certainly did have worries or anxieties getting started.

Bridget:

Perhaps one of the reasons that I also chose the Samaritans was because I've

Bridget:

definitely, most definitely, experienced difficult times in my own life.

Bridget:

I have found myself in places where I know I have reached out and made contact.

Bridget:

Actually, in those moments in my life, I can't tell you whether it was Samaritans

Bridget:

that I called because that is how muddled I felt with my thinking at the time.

Bridget:

Samaritans has always been an organization that I've been aware of.

Bridget:

I used that knowledge that I, having been in that place myself, I felt

Bridget:

I was then able to feel somewhat, not very, but somewhat qualified

Bridget:

to listen to people that might be feeling as desperate as I have.

Bridget:

So I think I, I felt as though I had the empathy to do the role to volunteer,

Bridget:

but I certainly had anxieties about whether I would be able to handle

Bridget:

people that were ringing up who were very distressed, people that

Bridget:

might also ring up feeling angry.

Bridget:

You know, I'm not very good in my own personal life if somebody

Bridget:

wants to have a go at me.

Bridget:

So I was worried about things like that.

Bridget:

I don't remember being especially worried about meeting new

Bridget:

people because I wanted to.

Bridget:

a new and a different experience.

Bridget:

My job is actually remote as well, so I work from home.

Bridget:

I wanted that contact.

Bridget:

I was also reassured very much from the beginning, very, very welcomed from the

Bridget:

off that we would not be set free on calls without a considerable amount of class

Bridget:

learning, which we did as a group of 12.

Bridget:

After that time with a mentor, it would only be when I was ready That

Bridget:

I would start to take calls myself, that really reassured me and I am

Bridget:

somebody that does worry about things and worry about doing a good job.

Bridget:

Sarah (host): Once the training is completed and the volunteer mentor

Bridget:

is happy, then as Michael said, it is time for a new volunteer

Bridget:

to take their first solo call.

Bridget:

Bridget described what it was like to pick up the phone for the

Bridget:

very first time as a Samaritan.

Bridget:

I am somebody that wants to do a good job.

Bridget:

I am somebody that can feel concerned or nervous at times.

Bridget:

I was scared that that would be the case, but I really drew strength

Bridget:

from exactly what I've just described in terms of that robust training.

Bridget:

If anything, it was almost like, I wouldn't say I'd been over prepared,

Bridget:

but there was no doubt that I had the skills to take the call.

Bridget:

My heart was pounding when the phone first rang, but I soon

Bridget:

remembered the training that I'd had.

Bridget:

I had my mentor sitting with me, so if there were any moments where I wasn't

Bridget:

sure what I wanted to say to the caller next, she was able to communicate with

Bridget:

me, you know, Without the call and knowing about that, it just so happened

Bridget:

actually within about 10 minutes of the call, her doorbell rang and so, you

Bridget:

know, she was able to say to me, look, you know, thanks for talking to me.

Bridget:

My doorbells rung.

Bridget:

I'm off now.

Bridget:

And I remember thinking in some ways, I was relieved that my first call had been

Bridget:

quite short and I was able to realize that I'd done it and take confidence from that.

Bridget:

And from then on, My mentor would sit with me quite regularly and after a while you

Bridget:

do start to really gain confidence and realize that because Samaritans is about

Bridget:

listening the stage isn't yours to take and and really it's just about sitting

Bridget:

with somebody in a very difficult time.

Bridget:

Sarah (host): Having completed that first phone call it's time to settle

Bridget:

into regular sessions as a Samaritan.

Bridget:

Bridget and Michael explains how this works.

Bridget:

We open up the branch or we take over from the previous shift and

Bridget:

that means going up the stairs in our building, our nice old building, turning

Bridget:

the lights on or talking to volunteers that are just coming off shift and that

Bridget:

if there is a shift that's just ending that's a really lovely friendly moment,

Bridget:

you know, we'll be asking how each other is, maybe that somebody's already on

Bridget:

the phone so we, you know, we might be doing that quietly in the room next door.

Bridget:

door, but there's lots of, you know, it's not businesslike, it's not

Bridget:

head down, hurry up, get in, log on.

Bridget:

It's a really, really lovely, it does feel social as well as important

Bridget:

for the callers to be there.

Bridget:

It feels like I get a lot from.

Bridget:

getting out of the house and seeing those people, especially in a busy day

Bridget:

or a difficult day, whatever it may be.

Bridget:

It always makes me feel better to have that contact.

Bridget:

We then decide which stations that we're going to work at.

Bridget:

So there's lots of kind of, would you like to work over there?

Bridget:

Where would you like to go today?

Bridget:

It's really lovely and supportive.

Bridget:

We log on to the Samaritan system and.

Bridget:

That isn't tricky at all.

Bridget:

We turn on the monitor and we turn on the computer station and we type in our

Bridget:

logins, a couple of buttons later pressed, we're then ready to receive calls.

Bridget:

Our shifts last three hours, so I find that's really a good time.

Bridget:

It's nothing that would make you feel too exhausted.

Bridget:

It's quite easy to fit in around life.

Bridget:

If life is busy, it's easy to do.

Bridget:

at a time that suits you.

Bridget:

So the shift patterns are really different and really flexible.

Bridget:

They can be during the day, they can be during the night.

Bridget:

There are some stipulations about how many evening shifts or into

Bridget:

the night shifts that you do.

Bridget:

But again, you know, I've found those really manageable and they

Bridget:

were made clear at the beginning.

Bridget:

I think what, um, I find people may think about Samaritans is that when

Bridget:

we're receiving calls All of the calls we receive are from people that are

Bridget:

planning to end their life in that moment.

Bridget:

In my own experience, that is rarely the case.

Bridget:

The majority of calls that we will experience on a shift are from people

Bridget:

who are lonely, for example, need to reach out for somebody in that

Bridget:

moment to have somebody to talk to.

Bridget:

They may be struggling with poor mental health, all sorts of different conditions.

Bridget:

It could be depression, anxiety, maybe bipolar disorder,

Bridget:

schizophrenia, for example.

Bridget:

They may not be able to get through to a crisis team at that particular point.

Bridget:

We do get some people that will call us because there has been a life

Bridget:

circumstance that they weren't expecting.

Bridget:

So again, that may mean that the call isn't of a suicidal nature.

Bridget:

It's just that that person has received some really difficult news and they don't

Bridget:

know how to process it, or something has happened that day, that week.

Bridget:

You know, even in the last year, there may be people that are on the phone.

Bridget:

Remembering things from their past and processing things.

Bridget:

There may be people that are in grief.

Bridget:

It is rare that we would receive a call from somebody that is

Bridget:

planning to end their life.

Bridget:

I would say that in my own experience, that has happened to me once or twice

Bridget:

a year in each of my four years.

Bridget:

of being a Samaritan.

Bridget:

The predominant role for most of the time, and of course we can never tell

Bridget:

when those calls are going to come in.

Bridget:

We're there for them when they do.

Bridget:

Most of the time it is being there for people that we want to make sure

Bridget:

don't find themselves in that situation where they plan to end their life.

Bridget:

That's really ultimately what we're there for and that's the majority

Bridget:

of the calls that come through.

Michael:

Calls to Samaritans are free.

Michael:

People can ring us on our 116 123 free phone number.

Michael:

Which is free from landlines and mobiles.

Michael:

And there's one unique thing about that number, because if you dial it,

Michael:

it won't appear on your phone bill.

Michael:

It'll be as if you've never made the call.

Michael:

The technical reason for that is because we have an arrangement

Michael:

with all the phone companies.

Michael:

BT, Sky, Vodafone, Plusnet, three, all of them.

Michael:

If you ring 116 123, it won't appear on the bill.

Michael:

Maybe you're a troubled teenager, and you wouldn't want your parents to find out.

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So 116 123 is free.

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Confidential and utterly anonymous.

Michael:

When you dial that number, then the computer picks up the call and directs

Michael:

it to any one of the 201 Samaritan branches that there are in this country

Michael:

that has a free line at that very moment.

Michael:

So when I go on duty, the first call I get could be from Manchester.

Michael:

The next one could be from Bristol.

Michael:

The next one may be from Exeter.

Michael:

The next one from London.

Michael:

The Kingsman.

Michael:

Normally calls are 15, 20 minutes, half an hour, maybe up to an hour.

Michael:

But occasionally we get the really long ones.

Michael:

My longest call has ever been three hours, 21 minutes.

Michael:

And that's a very long time to talk to one very distressed person.

Michael:

Sarah (host): Because of the nature of the conversations and the occasional length

Michael:

of the calls, the support system for Samaritan volunteers needs to be robust.

Michael:

We're very good at supporting ourselves, actually.

Michael:

There's always two of us on duty at any one time.

Michael:

We're never allowed to be just in the branch on our own.

Michael:

And we, we work from branches or houses around the country,

Michael:

not from our own homes.

Michael:

So there's a minimum of two people on duty.

Michael:

At the end of the call, we will talk to each other during the course of the,

Michael:

the duty about the calls we've taken.

Michael:

And if I know that my colleagues had a really difficult call, then I'll As soon

Michael:

as I can, I'll switch off my phone and we'll perhaps go and have a cup of tea

Michael:

together and sit and talk about the call.

Michael:

One of the, uh, branch management team, he's actually responsible

Michael:

for volunteer welfare.

Michael:

I might call her and tell her, look, I've had a really difficult call

Michael:

and she will talk with me about it.

Michael:

At the end of every shift, we always contact, uh, uh, what's known as a leader.

Michael:

They're experienced people, I'm a leader.

Michael:

So you then talk through all the calls you've had on that, on that shift.

Michael:

Uh, the leader can make sure that you're okay after those calls, as

Michael:

well as finding out about the calls.

Bridget:

I think we do take difficult calls and it might sound

Bridget:

a bit, I can't even think what the word is, but inappropriate to be

Bridget:

kind of like taking time out and eating biscuits as if everything's

Bridget:

happy and cheery because it's not.

Bridget:

But sometimes when I'm taking a Samaritan's call, I will sit with

Bridget:

my head kind of resting in my hands, really, really thinking about the

Bridget:

caller's situation and listening to exactly what's happening for them.

Bridget:

That can feel tiring at the end.

Bridget:

It's so important if you do feel.

Bridget:

tired or emotionally kind of just in need of recharge then it's important that

Bridget:

there's sugar there's there's a warm drink to recharge your battery so that when

Bridget:

you take the next call you are fresh into that and that there's no kind of feeling

Bridget:

that as I say you're just taking the next call for the sake of it that stuff is is

Bridget:

really important there are some calls will stay with me because of that connection

Bridget:

that I was speaking about earlier.

Bridget:

Where I've just felt that we've had a conversation that I won't forget.

Bridget:

And there aren't many of those, perhaps five, might even struggle to think of

Bridget:

three, but I know that there are sometimes those calls that have felt like very

Bridget:

significant moments in my Samaritan life.

Bridget:

And I think any other Samaritan that you spoke to would say that they have had

Bridget:

calls like that, that they've remembered.

Bridget:

Sarah (host): Volunteering with the Samaritans sounds like it

Bridget:

could be a very demanding role and not for the faint hearted.

Bridget:

We asked Bridget and Michael if this was indeed the case and whether Samaritans

Bridget:

would need to have particular skills or experience to join the organisation.

Bridget:

I think that's the thing about Samaritans is that everybody thinks

Bridget:

it is probably emotionally exhausting and what I would say is that It can

Bridget:

be, but it's not that all of the time, because you feel as though you are

Bridget:

there for people that want to talk.

Bridget:

It is as rewarding as it may be emotional.

Bridget:

So the two balance each other out quite nicely.

Bridget:

The main thing is just to have that empathy, to know that sometimes life

Bridget:

is difficult for people is important.

Bridget:

But the thing that I really love is the contact with the other volunteers and

Bridget:

knowing that we all have a common purpose, but we're all extremely different.

Bridget:

There are people of different ages, different backgrounds, walks of life.

Bridget:

I probably picked around in terms of what those people have done in their lives or

Bridget:

want to do, what their value sets are.

Bridget:

I mean, probably we've all got that shared connection that we

Bridget:

want to make a difference to others and we care about others.

Bridget:

But there are certainly lots of differences between us, but that

Bridget:

common connection has meant that a lot of them feel like friends.

Bridget:

And certainly when I've had my own troubles, the Samaritan structure has

Bridget:

been such that I have been checked in on.

Bridget:

That has felt amazing.

Bridget:

It does feel like a family.

Bridget:

Part of the reason why I had the courage to actually take the plunge

Bridget:

and apply for Samaritans was because I did have experience talking to people

Bridget:

that that's always been something that I've done throughout my working life.

Bridget:

And I don't mean in a fancy way I've worked in supermarkets.

Bridget:

For example, the work that I'd done for over a decade was actually

Bridget:

interviewing people over the phone.

Bridget:

So I felt that there was some real.

Bridget:

kind of transferable skills there.

Bridget:

Of course, the content of the course was very different, but I felt

Bridget:

quite comfortable on the phone.

Bridget:

I think part of the reason that the branch asked me to manage their social media was

Bridget:

because I had volunteered in the past in roles, for example, trying to save the

Bridget:

local library, and I'd done some work via my own personal social media in kind of

Bridget:

getting some messages out around that.

Bridget:

That was seen to be valuable.

Bridget:

Quite interesting, really, for me, that my own personal use of social media would

Bridget:

be seen as a skill in a volunteering role.

Bridget:

I think, really, the reason that I would probably stop there is because

Bridget:

it certainly wasn't essential for me to have any particular skills.

Bridget:

You know, none of those were prerequisites.

Michael:

Our volunteers range from old men like me down to,

Michael:

down to youngsters as well.

Michael:

You have to be 21 to be a Samaritan.

Michael:

We have quite a few Samaritans in their 20s and 30s, as well as people spreading

Michael:

all through the older age groups.

Michael:

But there isn't a set age, there isn't a set type of person.

Michael:

People can come from all sorts of backgrounds.

Michael:

It doesn't matter what you are as long as you are prepared.

Michael:

to listen.

Michael:

The key thing is the ability to listen and be not judgmental.

Michael:

I mean, there's an, there's an old little story of an old wise man who

Michael:

said to help someone in despair.

Michael:

You don't have to be beautiful, handsome, rich, clever, or funny.

Michael:

You just have to care, and our job is to listen to people, and by listening

Michael:

and talking with them, to try and help them through whatever crisis they have.

Michael:

Sarah (host): It is clear that bringing empathy and the ability to

Michael:

listen as a Samaritan can help you be an excellent volunteer and support

Michael:

those who need someone to listen.

Michael:

Sometimes though, the advantages of volunteering to the volunteers

Michael:

themselves aren't always obvious.

Michael:

Bridget shared with us the benefits she has found through being a Samaritan.

Bridget:

I think the benefits to me in my own life have been massive in that

Bridget:

when I'm talking to my friends, when I'm talking to my family, I've experienced

Bridget:

some challenging situations of my own since I've been a Samaritan, and my

Bridget:

goodness me, it's taught me to Close my mouth and to listen instead of wading in.

Bridget:

It's taught me resilience.

Bridget:

It's taught me strength.

Bridget:

It's reminded me that everybody can experience challenges.

Bridget:

It's helped me ask questions of my friends about whether they're okay.

Bridget:

Whether they actually feel so concerned about what's going on in their life.

Bridget:

that they may have suicidal feelings and I would never ask anybody that normally.

Bridget:

So it's allowed me to be much more open and I've had some amazing conversations

Bridget:

with friends as a result of that.

Bridget:

So it's most certainly enriched my own life.

Bridget:

It's actually helped me in my working life as well because it's led to other

Bridget:

work opportunities that I didn't expect and I didn't join Samaritans for.

Bridget:

I'd always hope that the benefits are for the caller.

Bridget:

This volunteering experience, it really has broadened my

Bridget:

outlook and my life immeasurably.

Bridget:

One of the things that I have been able to do as part of Samaritans that

Bridget:

I forgot to mention earlier actually is, is do some outreach events.

Bridget:

So that means representing Samaritans at events in the community.

Bridget:

that has taken me to Norwich City in the last couple of months to

Bridget:

one of their mental health events.

Bridget:

And I'm an absolute mad Norwich City fan.

Bridget:

So to kind of represent the organization that I volunteer for in a setting that

Bridget:

means so much to me in my own kind of leisure world is quite lovely and

Bridget:

sort of feels, makes me feel quite proud that the two things can overlap.

Bridget:

And again, it's about picking and choosing with Samaritans

Bridget:

really, you can, you can do that.

Bridget:

Sarah (host): Both Michael and Bridget have been volunteering

Bridget:

with Samaritans for many years.

Bridget:

We asked them what inspired their dedication to the role and kept

Bridget:

them volunteering as Samaritans.

Michael:

The next call because somebody might be on the phone in desperate

Michael:

need for somebody to talk to and I'm just one of all the team of Samaritans

Michael:

that's there to talk to people.

Michael:

But sometimes at the end of a shift or at the end of a call, you

Michael:

put the phone down and you think, that's why I'm here as a Samaritan.

Bridget:

Sometimes, just sometimes, and not all the time, and it really

Bridget:

wouldn't matter if people didn't say this, but sometimes, I probably

Bridget:

have to be careful not getting emotional when I say this, sometimes

Bridget:

callers will for what you've done.

Bridget:

The reason that I find that emotional is because I think to myself, I've

Bridget:

done nothing apart from listen.

Bridget:

The, the connection, I can't explain, or I can try to explain, I suppose, how

Bridget:

powerful it is to speak to a stranger.

Bridget:

To connect in a very, very basic way, really, because, but a very important way

Bridget:

where that person is able to tell you some extremely private, personal, important

Bridget:

things as a stranger, to just be able to listen to that person is what I feel we

Bridget:

miss in society, to be in a place where I am able to do that and to have anybody

Bridget:

even, even just think that they might want to take a moment to say thanks.

Bridget:

I mean, as I say, they don't need to say it, but when they do, I find it

Bridget:

really feels like my heart is going to absolutely explode out of my chest because

Bridget:

it feels like such a human connection.

Bridget:

That is a massive benefit.

Bridget:

When I think about this, it just, it's all I think about really, is just how

Bridget:

significant it feels to talk to somebody when they're in a difficult place.

Bridget:

And as Samaritans, we don't ever tell anybody what to do or give advice.

Bridget:

The benefits to the caller are never going to be that they

Bridget:

walk away with some sort of.

Bridget:

To do list that they've been given, but I do think that that is important.

Bridget:

The benefits to them calling is that first of all, we're there, that they

Bridget:

don't have to feel alone in that moment.

Bridget:

Also, that they are able to talk through what is on their mind.

Bridget:

And I do think that by asking that person, questions by listening to them,

Bridget:

by not judging, they can find a way forward, whatever that may look like.

Bridget:

As I say, we won't ever tell anybody how to behave.

Bridget:

That solution, that clarity that that person may find in that moment

Bridget:

through talking about how they're feeling is completely individual.

Bridget:

That's why it can help the person that's called.

Bridget:

because they're just able to sort things out.

Bridget:

And in our training, we, we talk about people ringing Samaritans as

Bridget:

if they've been going around a tumble dryer and everything is jumbled.

Bridget:

By the time they finished a Samaritan's call, everything has

Bridget:

come out of the tumble dryer and it's been looked at and it's been

Bridget:

folded up and it's in a neater pile.

Bridget:

Sarah (host): A big thank you to Samaritan's Kings Lynn

Bridget:

volunteers, Michael and Bridget, for taking the time to talk to us.

Bridget:

What I would love to say to that person is just go for it, just go for it.

Bridget:

Whatever your concerns may be, whatever your reservations may be, I would

Bridget:

say that To be somebody that would consider volunteering for Samaritans

Bridget:

is a sign that that person wants to help and wants to make a difference.

Bridget:

And if you've got that, you know, we've talked today about having, you

Bridget:

know, whether there's been skills or experience that I've needed.

Bridget:

And I, I would genuinely say that that is all somebody that wants

Bridget:

to volunteer for Samaritans needs.

Bridget:

And okay, you know, three spare hours of time each week, but

Bridget:

you know, there is room in the rota for holidays and time off.

Bridget:

All of that is really understood for life events.

Bridget:

I would just encourage that person to go on the website, have a look at where

Bridget:

their nearest branch is and take the plunge because you know, you're only then

Bridget:

just kind of putting the feelers out.

Bridget:

You can find out more information.

Bridget:

Any volunteer in a branch would gladly have a conversation with somebody

Bridget:

to talk through what it feels like.

Bridget:

There really is no obligation.

Michael:

Be prepared to hear some.

Michael:

pretty heartbreaking stories from people.

Michael:

Be prepared to understand that a lot of people are in distress in this country.

Michael:

Be prepared to recognize that just by you listening and talking to somebody,

Michael:

you might help save someone's life.

Michael:

Sarah (host): We hope you enjoyed today's episode of volunteering discovery.

Michael:

If you've been affected by anything discussed in this podcast, please

Michael:

contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or www.

Michael:

samaritans.

Michael:

org or contact your local mental health care provider.

Michael:

If you are interested in finding out more about the Samaritans or how to

Michael:

volunteer with them, please visit www.

Michael:

samaritans.

Michael:

org.

Michael:

Please don't forget to subscribe, rate and review this podcast.

Michael:

It all helps people find us and spread the word about volunteering.

Michael:

This podcast was produced for the Norfolk and Waverley Integrated Care

Michael:

System by Hospital Radio Norwich.

Michael:

Hosted by Sarah Briggs.

Michael:

Producer was Jules Auderson.

Michael:

Original music composed and performed by Philip Aldred.

Michael:

Interviews by Sarah Briggs and Jules Alderson.

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About the Podcast

Volunteering Discovery
All about volunteering in health and care
Welcome to Volunteering Discovery, where we dig into the world of health and care volunteering in Norfolk and Waveney and hear from the people that give their time to help others. We want to banish the stereotype that health and care volunteering only means making cups of tea for patients on a ward. We know that's an important role, but there are so many other activities which make a difference that you might not know about.

In the first season of this weekly podcast, we'll start our exploration into volunteering which supports people's health and care in our hospitals, our communities and our homes. From group settings to supporting families in their own homes, volunteering isn't a one size fits all activity.

By talking to volunteers and the staff who work alongside them, we'll be finding out what it's really like to be a volunteer. Volunteers will share their stories of how they got started and what keeps them coming back.

If you have ever been interested in how local people make a difference in their spare time, or what support is available in Norfolk and Waveney, this is the show for you.

About your host

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Jules Alderson