Samaritans - Listening Volunteer

Listening volunteers are there for anyone who needs someone. They spend over one million hours responding to calls for help each year and they can change the course of someone’s life.

Help people at difficult times

Every day, Samaritans volunteers respond to around 10,000 calls for help. Every day we can help someone turn their life around. As a listening volunteer you get the chance to make a real difference to someone’s future.

Get support every step of the way

You’ll receive full training to prepare you for the kinds of conversations you’ll have. And when you start out, you’ll have a mentor with you, to give you confidence you’re doing the right thing.

Learn to do something valuable

You’ll gain a range of new skills and the confidence to use them, including the ability to understand people and manage difficult conversations. Many employers value these kinds of skills.

What it’s like being a listening volunteer

• It’s always different and always interesting – no two conversations are the same.
• It feels like a privilege to have people confiding in you.
• You’re never on your own, and there’s a fun, supportive atmosphere in our branches.
• You can offer support on the phone or email.
• You can take a break between conversations whenever you need to.
• Spending a few hours helping other people can make you feel good about yourself.

What support and training will I get?

Training

You'll be given high quality training to prepare you for the role. This takes place over 5-10 sessions depending on if it’s being run as group sessions face to face or online, along with some digital topics and usually takes place during weekday evenings or weekends. It typically takes a few months before you're ready to start volunteering.

You’ll also receive ongoing training several times a year to keep building your skills.

Mentoring

Towards the end of the training, you’ll be given a mentor – an experienced volunteer who will be with you during your first few shifts.

They’ll give you feedback and support, answer your questions, and help develop your confidence.

Support

You’ll never be on your own as a listening volunteer. And there’s always time to talk through anything.

Sharing what’s happened with other Samaritans is a good way of dealing with anything you find difficult. (Our volunteers don’t share anything outside of Samaritans and that’s really important).

How do I become a listening volunteer?

After making an enquiry you’ll have an interview as part of our selection process, and if you’re selected, you’ll attend our in-depth training.

1. Complete the enquiry form online
   You’ll go through some statements about the listening role and then complete our online enquiry form - it's quick we just need a few details.
2. Have an interview
   This is an opportunity for us to get to know you and for you and us to find out if the role is right for you.
3. Start your training
   Our training covers everything you’ll need to feel comfortable in the role.

Our recruitment and training is all done by volunteers. It can take a few months from when you make your first enquiry, but we value everyone who is interested in volunteering with us. We have social media guidelines for our volunteers which includes asking trainee volunteers not to disclose they are volunteers until they are fully trained. We would therefore suggest that you don’t mention on social media that you are applying to become a volunteer. This protects you from being asked to help someone when you may not have completed the training.