Volunteering

This week, I thought I’d blog about my volunteering role. Not a role that I talk about much on social media but some of you eagle-eyed folks have picked up on my early morning postings. And questioned, what I’m doing? If you spy an early morning post linked to breakfast at McDonalds, I will have just finished a night shift answering phones for a charity. The shift starts at 2am and finishes at 6am - its my preferred shift. I’m usually in Maccy’s within 10 minutes, as it is the perfect place to allow my brain to download from the topics and calls taken during the night. I tend to be the only person who is ‘eating in’ and the staff greet me with a smile. Which is always lovely. I have the entire place to myself, while a line of traffic snakes past the window for the ‘drive thru’. 
 
It might sound melancholy but it’s become a vital routine after each night shift giving me chance to grab breakfast and empty my mind, before heading home to start my day. I do different shifts each week but my preferred shift is the night shift. For eighteen months, I have willingly given my time, four hours a week, to those that need to talk. I’ve found it to be rewarding and have gained a sense of purpose knowing that my experiences in life haven’t gone to waste. We all encounter ‘something’ in life, I endured rotten times as a child and in my thirties – the early hours of the morning were the worst for me. I frequently hear callers make comments that I once uttered and instantly understand where they are coming from. Sadly, during my difficult times, my comments fell on deaf ears or were answered back with insulting cliches! My callers benefit because I understand where they are sitting with their hurt/pain/upset/trauma/situation/issue – I haven’t ‘lived’ what they’re going through but I recognise the emotions and the isolation they talk about. 
 
I truly believe: we don’t heal until we’re heard!
 
So, should you spot my social media Maccy’s breakfast posts know that I’m heading home grateful for the opportunity to have listened to another - who needed to be heard. 
 
Samaritans: freephone on 116 123 - 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

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