Derry Childline volunteer says work helps her understand her own children and background

Now, along with a team of dedicated Childline staff and volunteers, she provides a listening ear throughout the night for children and young people who may be worried or in distress.

“Prior to getting married and having children, I had been a day care worker for children and adults with special needs and had enrolled at college to study counselling,” says Patricia. “Unfortunately, when I was 22, I suffered a serious back injury and had to give it all up.

“I was due to get married a few months later and ended up walking down the aisle on crutches. It wasn’t the wedding day I imagined, but we’re still together 25 years and three children later,” she laughs.

As Patricia’s children grew up and became more independent, she decided to return to study and a few years ago, did an Introduction to Counselling night class.

“I really enjoyed it,” she says. “And I had always talked about volunteering for Childline, but with three young children, I never had the time. Then when my oldest child Callum was heading off to Queen’s University, he told me to just go for it.

“I started training to be a volunteer counsellor in February 2021 and began doing shifts at the Foyle base in April that year. When the Night Service started last year in Derry, the hours suited family life better and so, on Thursday nights, I drive up from Omagh and do the 11.30pm to 7am shift.”

Patricia is currently studying Level 3 CPCAB (Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body) at North West Regional College in Strabane. And after completing level 4 next year, she will be a qualified and accredited counsellor.

However, while Patricia is studying for a professional counselling qualification, there are no specific qualifications, previous jobs or experience required to become a Childline volunteer.

“You can come from any walk of life or employment background,” she says. “The most important thing is that you are empathetic, a good listener and non-judgmental.”

Patricia admits that her own life experience has very much shaped her professional interests and equipped her with the personal qualities to become a volunteer Childline counsellor.

“My mum and dad both battled alcoholism,” she says. “Mum was in recovery when she passed away from cancer 11 years ago, my dad died a year prior to that, and the following year, my brother Dean took his own life. He was only 25 years old.

“Through my studies and volunteering with Childline, I can look back and remember things such as when I was growing up, I would have been cross at my mum and dad for different situations and things that happened. Now, I’m much more aware of the issues involved and what they were going through."

“Volunteering with Childline has also enhanced my relationship with my own children.

“My eldest Callum is 23 and has graduated from Queen’s with a degree in Theoretical Physics and is living and working in Belfast. My middle child, Kian, 19, is studying Marketing and Finance at Ulster University and is very much into sports, playing Gaelic and boxing, and my daughter Cobhlaith, 14, is in year 10 of secondary school and has just selected her GCSE’s and enjoying her teenage years.

“Thanks to volunteering with Childline, I’m more tuned into what they might be thinking and worrying about.”

“As a volunteer you learn so much about yourself as well. You learn to watch the way you speak to someone and the terminology that you use. You also learn a lot about what’s going on in society.

“Recently we’ve been hearing some young people say, ‘I know my parents don’t have any money’ or that they’re worried about the cost-of-living crisis, saying things such as ‘We’ve only got £50 at home to do us for the next three weeks’. Or that their parents have issues and it’s the kids who are having to work out the finances. That’s a lot for young people to cope with and not have an outlet.

“Of course, there can be some extremely serious calls, but the training you receive is fantastic, so by the time you start doing it for real, you feel confident about what you are doing. You’re also taught how to look after yourself and how to cope if you’ve been talking to a young person with a serious issue. Every volunteer is supported by the shift supervisors who are just phenomenal and will sit with you through those difficult calls, help you and sometimes even tell you word for word what to say.

“Talking to a young person on the phone or online, you might be the only person they feel able to express themselves to. Night-time can be the loneliest and most scary time and knowing that there’s someone there they can offload their problems can really help.”

Childline and the Childline Night Service in Foyle are in desperate need of more volunteer counsellors. If anyone wants to find out more, there are regular no-obligation online volunteer sessions, where you can find out all about the training, meet supervisors and volunteers and ask any questions you may have.

“I couldn’t recommend it enough,” adds Patricia. “The Childline base in Foyle is a wonderful place. It’s like a big hug when you go in. And for children and young people worried and in distress, Childline can sometimes be the only place they can turn to.”

*If anyone is interested in finding out more about becoming a Childline Volunteer Counsellor, or attending a no-obligation, online information session, go to www.nspcc.org.uk and search for ‘Volunteer with Childline’.