Listening Volunteer

The Listening Place is a volunteer-led charity aiming to transform how we support people who feel suicidal. Our trained volunteers are part of a team delivering face-to-face, confidential, ongoing support to thousands of people each year. They help create the warm and welcoming environment that encourages people struggling with suicidal thoughts and feelings to talk openly without being judged or given advice.

Listening volunteers provide ongoing face-to-face support to visitors on regular, fortnightly 4-hour shifts during which they meet with up to 3 visitors (for up to 50 minutes each). In order to ensure continuity for our visitors we require a one-year minimum commitment from our LVs, as well as three months’ notice of intention to leave.

No experience or qualifications are necessary – we provide full training in active listening. We look for warmth, empathy and resilience in our volunteers and the ability to be non-judgemental and avoid giving advice.

We are primarily recruiting Listening Volunteers for our Hammersmith and Liverpool Street sites.

What skills do I need?

No experience or qualifications are necessary – we provide full training in active listening. We look for warmth, empathy and resilience in our volunteers and the ability to be non-judgemental and avoid giving advice.

About The Listening Place

The Listening Place currently supports around 2,000 people on an ongoing basis each month across four London sites (Pimlico, Kings Cross, Hammersmith and Liverpool St). TLP offers a warm, non-judgmental and completely confidential setting in which people can speak openly about wanting to end their own lives. Carefully selected and trained volunteers deliver fortnightly, 50-minute appointments, supporting visitors for at least three months and up to a year. TLP is open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year except Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Since the charity was founded in 2016, it has received over 30,000 referrals.

When do I need to be available?

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