Samaritans, can I help you?
Volunteering for the Samaritans during the pandemic was incredibly rewarding
I volunteered on the Samaritans (suicide) helpline for 3 years, listening to people in varying states of distress and despair. Most of the callers were not contemplating suicide at the very moment of calling, but a few were.
Phones rang non-stop and emails arrived around the clock as people reached out for emotional support. And irrespective of what they were troubled by, they all received the same non-judgemental listening ear.
Volunteering at the Samaritans is similar to having a part-time job in that you are expected to ‘work’ one duty per week, and one night shift per month. Volunteers are made aware of this commitment early on in their training and expected to honour it.
My Samaritans duty was the highlight of my week. I would look forward to going into the branch and eagerly forward plan my duties. Sometimes I would scan the rota looking for a last-minute gap to fill.
It felt good giving up my spare time to help those in need. It felt good putting my counselling training to use. It felt good having an actual identity in the ‘helping profession’.
I volunteered all through the pandemic, mostly evenings but various other times as well. Samaritans were deemed to be ‘frontline workers’ by the UK government and were exempt from lockdown restrictions when volunteering.
It was a small luxury to be able to leave the house. And an even bigger privilege to help those in need.
I’m Frank, an autistic software engineer and owner of Better Software UK, a software requirements consultancy.
