Volunteering with Samaritans was 'one of my best decisions'
When Teresa Bell was in her early 40s, she spotted a small ad in the Westmeath Independent for the service provided by Samaritans.
The Athlone woman (pictured above) was happily working as a civil servant at the time and was open to the idea of taking on an additional voluntary role in the service of others.
"I am not married and I don't have children, so I had my job, which I was delighted to have, and my family around me. I had a very nice life, but I was looking for a kind of balance because it was all really about me," she said.
"You could become the centre of your own universe, and that's not a healthy way to live your life."
When she saw the ad in the paper it was in the 1990s, long before Google became ubiquitous, so Teresa's search for more information meant knocking on the door of the charity to ask if they were looking for volunteers.
That was twenty three years ago. Teresa just retired last month, after more than two decades of dedicated service as a Samaritans volunteer.
Getting involved with the organisation was, she said, one of the best decisions she made in her life.
"The training you get in the Samaritans is absolutely wonderful," she explained. "Also, it's about learning about yourself, and about learning how to listen. We all think we are great listeners but (in the Samaritans) you really learn how to listen to people.
"It's not just about hearing them, it's about staying with them during the conversation and not allowing your concentration to slide away onto something else.
"It's a very concentrated and active role that you're playing in that conversation with the person who contacts the Samaritans. I have to say it has been a wonderful addition to my life, because the skills that I have learned in being a Samaritans volunteer are skills that I hope I use to the best of their advantage in my 'normal life'."
She spoke about how the very act of answering the phone takes on a new focus when the caller is someone who may be struggling to cope and in need of the support Samaritans can provide.
"When you take your first call for the Samaritans, that phone becomes quite a different instrument in your hand. You're very aware of where you are and the situation that you're in.
"It's not just a case of nonchalantly taking up the phone and talking to somebody as you would in your normal life.
"You are there for a specific purpose, which is to listen to this person and to try to help them explore how they're feeling and why they're feeling that way. That's a very specific thing, and a very different way to the way we normally conduct conversations over the telephone.
"But it's very, very worthwhile, and people always know when you are listening to them."
There are 20 Samaritans branches across Ireland with well over 2,000 active volunteers. The branch in Athlone has been here for the last 28 years and Teresa was its director in its 20th year, when a civic reception to honour the branch was held by Athlone Town Council.
She also became involved with the Samaritans organisation on a national level. The island of Ireland is the charity's 'Irish region' and Teresa served as deputy regional director, in other words the second most senior volunteer on the island, on two occasions.
While many changes have taken place in Ireland over the last two decades, many of the reasons why people call the Samaritans have remained constant over the years.
"When the (Athlone) branch was being opened, the things that people would present with were loneliness, family issues, relationship issues, financial problems, sexuality... all of those things are very prominent even today."
Teresa was still volunteering up until May 20 and she said that in recent months the phone lines have been particularly busy, with many calls related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Covid-19 has been hugely represented in the upsurge of calls that the Samaritans have had over the last number of months," she said.
An unexpected benefit of being a Samaritans volunteer came two years ago, when Teresa and two other Irish representatives of the charity, from Dublin and Sligo, were invited to Buckingham Palace in recognition of their service with the charity.
Prince Charles is a patron of the Samaritans and this connection resulted in the Irish trio getting to attend his 70th birthday celebrations.
"Aisling Curley, the branch director in Athlone, started the ball rolling on that. She entered my name for it and that was how I got there," Teresa smiled.
"It was a very proud experience, because the three of us were representing all of the 2,200 Samaritans volunteers in Ireland, north and south. We got to shake hands with Prince Charles, and tell him who we were, so that was nice."
Having worked at various stages for Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Social Protection, and the Department of Education, Teresa retired from the civil service five years ago.
She felt that now was the right time to finish up with the Samaritans, but she will miss her fellow volunteers and the callers to the service.
"Volunteering with a voluntary organisation does reaffirm your faith in humanity and in human kindness," she said. "When you meet Samaritans volunteers, and see the amount of effort people go to on behalf of others, it's a very energising thing to be a part of.
"As a Samaritans volunteer, you get a sense of great value and worth from what you do. The reaction from people that you talk to is very encouraging as well, because there's a huge gratitude from people for being there and listening to them when they're feeling vulnerable.
"That's a huge thing, and it's a great privilege to do it," she concluded.
* Anyone can contact Samaritans for free at any time, from any phone, on 116 123. Or you can email jo@samaritans.ie or visit www.samaritans.ie