My Peer Support Line volunteer role

I was searching for my next opportunity. I picked up Optometry Today, and saw that the Peer Support Line was recruiting for volunteers. I had previously looked at it, but never got round to applying. This time, I thought: ‘it doesn't matter if I'm pregnant, I’m doing it now.’ It was something I really wanted to do – I didn’t want to wait for the next round of training.

I was heavily pregnant and rotating on my gym ball as I did my training. It was different to what I had expected: it was more about active listening and helping somebody work through their problems just by being there, offering them a safe space to listen, rather than fixing their problems. My daughter is now 14 months old, and I’ve been a Peer Support Line volunteer for 15 months.

What I enjoy most is that it allows me to put the values that I hold into practice. I always like to leave people better off than I found them, and that’s what the Peer Support Line does.

Skills for all areas of life

The active listening skills that you learn from the Peer Support Line are applicable to all walks of life, including being in practice, working with patients and identifying and addressing their concerns. As a parent, the skills are very important because you learn to actively listen to why your child is having that tantrum. It’s an all-round experience. It benefits me in many ways.

Being a Peer Support Line volunteer makes you feel as if you’ve done a good deed for the day. It makes you feel the impact that you’ve had on that person, and that holding them through that conversation isn’t going to end once you've got off the phone – it’s going to stay with them.

It also teaches you to be mindful. When I’m working on the Peer Support Line, I am mindful that this is my day where I’m going to sit and be present and ready for somebody who needs me. Everything else has to wait.

Sometimes when you have kids and you’re working in practice, you’re constantly on the go; eating on the go, coffee on the go. But for this, you need to slow down. You need to be fully present within yourself, so you can help guide somebody else into that same space.

The biggest lesson I have learned as a Peer Support Line volunteer is the importance of listening when somebody is silent. It’s not just the words: you can learn a lot from the silence – their tone, and the pauses between phrases. To be fully present in communication is not just about listening to the words that are coming out of somebody’s mouth.

The volunteer community

The community of Peer Support Line volunteers is supportive and humble. Being part of that is as important as being a volunteer, because you are in a community with like-minded people who all have a similar goal.

I’ve learned a lot through them: to be kind, to be humble, and to not see being kind as a weakness. You have this group of people who are devoted to giving their time to people and helping others. There’s no shame in being kind and showing up for somebody, and giving somebody your time. It’s about leading with compassion and kindness. With all that is going on in the world, and the newer generations coming into the profession, I think that’s a skill that needs to be encouraged.