Conor Murphy | Features Editor
Niteline is an organisation that only some will be familiar with. Some will be familiar because they picked up the phone and called them. Some will be familiar because they picked up the phone and staffed the lines. Most people’s interaction is sadly limited to viewing a sticker on the back of a college cubicle making reference to the fact that they are a college listening service.
Niteline’s efforts to establish a more public (and more human) face have always been hampered by total anonymity being the central pillar of working for Niteline. So much so that even as Karen Mulligan (Niteline External Co-Ordinator) and Jennifer Fortune (Niteline Internal Co-ordinator) sat down with UT to begin to become that public this anonymity is immediately emphasised. When I blindly asked where they are based, they both answer in perfect drilled sync; “we can’t discuss that”.
Karen and Jennifer both staffed the lines for two years. They would generally average around one shift a week. When discussing what those weeks were like you get the immediate impression of the unpredictability of each phone call. Jennifer remembers that “If you didnt get that adrenaline rush when the phone rings then you might be not doing your job correctly”. They make it clear that an awareness of that unpredictability was essential for those calls or else you will be blindsided. They both talked about the variety of topics callers broached, spanning from exam stress to sexual assault victims to people just wanting a chat.
However the exact numbers on the variety of callers is still very vague. Niteline have only just started working on the statistics around their calls and online chat services but they state that around 20% of their calls are based around the personal or romantic relationships of the caller. Jennifer and Karen stress the multifaceted nature of most calls and how much the two hour limit helps that. In their experience the first hour of two hour calls is often spent establishing trust with the Niteline volunteer. “Calls can sometimes start as silent calls” and often they’re ”starting off with [one issue]” and “develop into a completely other thing”. You can also get a short call seemingly about nothing in particular that builds the trust that enables that person to call again.
Jennifer knows it will sound cliched, but can’t help but say “you get more out of it than you give in”. Both felt that it would aid them in their life skills and possibly professional path; Karen has now gone back to do medicine and knows the techniques she’s learnt will help in day to day practice. The work helps all volunteers develop their active listening skills that can be so useful as a day to day skill, helping their own friends talk about their issues.
However, these volunteers aren’t people born with these abilities for careful and non judgmental consideration of stranger’s issues. Karen said that at the start of the training she automatically would tend to give advice, however this is drilled out of you very quickly. “You’re seeing such a small portion of someone’s life” that you can’t possibly give considered advice, this is definitely just a listening service; although they can point out sources of information and further points of contact if directly requested. To get on the team you must attend 12 weeks of detailed training covering every aspect of those listening techniques and what sorts of contacts you can get.
Extra difficulties include the variations between their phone lines and their online services. Jennifer points out that “you have be very careful with your tone when you’re writing” and Karen finds that delivering “empathy is difficult” through a chat messenger. But the training comes through here and “you always have an abundance” of key phrases and things to say if you’re panicking about dealing with especially crisis calls.
Karen’s most difficult call to take was from the perpetrator of a rape
That 12 week training covers the most difficult possible calls you can take while still trying to be impartial. In Karen’s case this was most tested when taking a call from the perpetrator of a rape. This sort of call gives a strong insight into the discipline it requires to be on one of these lines. “You really have to remove yourself and just let them talk” Jennifer says as the key driver in any call. It also highlights how detailed the training is, Karen specifically remembers being asked during training about what would she feel like if she got a call from a rapist about that fact; because of this she had the tools to deal with it. So more than anything you are given the basic psychological and verbal tools to be that ear to the person on the other line and almost remove yourself from that situation.
Still that professional counselling back up is definitely required and utilised by the volunteers. “Sometimes a call can affect you months later” and they of course have counsellors available to help them process any issues that will be inevitably brought up, as Jennifer says, “you wouldn’t be human if it didn’t affect you”.
Even with the support structures, sometimes the volunteers are “thin on the ground” as a direct result of volunteers not being able to tell people to get involved themselves. This is especially exasperated during May, a peak period for calls, and volunteers have less time due to exams.
However with this “coming out” program from ex volunteers and being able to put a human face on the story, they’re hoping this will begin to fill out the roster of volunteers even more and as well build more trust in them in the college community.
File for application is available here
https://docs.google.com/a/
If you find this doesn’t suit you for whatever reasons http://www.samaritans.org/ are always available every minute of the year.
Illustrator : Carys Wright
