A kind-hearted West Lothian woman has spoken of how volunteering for Childline for the last twenty plus years has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.
Sandra Gordon, 63, from West Calder, began chatting to a colleague back in 1999 about the work that they did with Childline. The Trust co-worker had taken up a role as a counsellor and sold the opportunity to Sandra.
Sandra later saw an advert that was looking to recruit volunteers for the cause and after attending a recruitment event in Glasgow she signed up the same day. She was convinced that the role would be ideal for her after listening to a speaker detail the benefits that they had experienced during their time with the organisation.
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She says that she has gained immense knowledge through the role as she has had to evolve as the problems that children face have changed throughout the emergence of the internet age. But she says that the modern era can often be difficult for children to escape their issues with the rise of the internet age.
From helping children with bullying, to dealing with suicidal tendencies and harrowing child abuse, Sandra says that the role is challenging but immensely rewarding.
On the problems she deals with, the changes that have taken place and the importance of being there to help children face their issues, Sandra said: “You always remember your first call. It was typical for the time where a kid was being bullied for not wearing the right trainers, something that is not all that common nowadays.
“Bullying back in the day was more associated with the classroom, the playground or in the streets. In a way it was easier to deal with because there was a face to it and if you had a good home life you could escape there.
“We would be able to give advice on changing their body language when being bullied so that although they were scared on the inside they could appear confident on the outside.
“But now bullying is really faceless and it is not as straightforward as it was then. It is always horrible whenever it happens but it seems like bullying is really terrorising our young people today.
“A lot of the time you do not know who the bully is online, what age or sex they are, which makes it difficult to deal with and can lead to denting young people’s confidence. I’ve noticed a lot of coercion online at the moment where young people speak to strangers.
“They get sent pictures which are not the person they are speaking to. They create relationships with these people and sometimes it leads to them sending inappropriate pictures.
“This then leads to blackmail where a young person will be coerced into dark acts or giving them money. The online extorters will threaten to tell their friends and family unless they do not do what they say which can be a horrifying experience.”
Mental health has always been at the forefront of the issues that counsellors like Sandra have had to help with. But she says that young peoples mental health has become particularly bad since the pandemic.
For a lot of young people the school environment was a safe space and having to spend all day in their homes with problematic family members was not only triggering but dangerous for a lot of children. This led to a rise in ideation and suicidal tendencies.
Ideation is when a young person is finding life difficult and thinks often about suicide without ever putting any plans in place. Whereas suicidal tendencies are when and individual has planned the act out with some level of detail.
She added: “There is a lot more inappropriate content out there for young people, whether it is watching TV or exploring websites that can be troubling for them to see. Young people I feel talk about it a lot nowadays even though they may not necessarily plan on following through on it.
“I’ve faced suicidal young people in the past and it is important that we never judge them and just listen. It is important to build up their self-esteem and to allow them to see that there are options and avenues out there that will help them to feel valued.
“For a lot of them there is stuff in the background that they have never talked about and we are anonymous so it makes it easier for them to open up. If it is very drastic then we can connect them with other services and even get someone to them if we can.
“Another constant is speaking to those who are victims of sexual abuse. We first and foremost always make sure they are safe before we go on to listen to the situation they find themselves in.”
From the outside the role looks as though it could be mentally taxing but Sandra says that there is great support systems in place and there is always a supervisor on hand ensuring you are ok and have the necessary training. Sandra adds that the training is always ongoing and that debriefs are held at the end of each shift that helps to decompress.
She continued: “I see it as a privilege to volunteer here as when the young people call up they have chosen to speak to me and whoever else is on the phone about the problems they are facing. The role is made all the better by the fact that the training is second to none.
“I think there are definitely times where we save children's lives but the first priority is always making sure they are safe. Having been a volunteer for over 20 years it shows how valuable the role can be and what a great organisation it is to be involved with.
“I’ve also learned lots of life skills that are transferable to the outside world. It is definitely not all doom and gloom either as I’m always learning the new words of the day that few other 60-year-olds would understand.
“It is also a real positive to understand the world that our young people are living in at the moment. My advice to anyone who wants to sing up is to get involved and do not be scared.
“You do not need to have children to do it. I never think I do not know if I can continue to do this and I always look forward to my shift whether it is rain or sunshine.”
Sandra is based at the Childline office in Glasgow but Edinburgh and Lothians residents are able to sign up to support young people virtually if they are unable to physically do so in Glasgow or Dundee.
Childine, is a vital service that caters to the needs of young people who find themselves facing difficult scenarios in their lives is appealing for volunteers in Scotland’s central belt to ensure that they can continue to provide 24/7, seven days a week care.
The organisation is calling on caring individuals to sign up for training so that they will be able to administer support over the phone - even if it is just for one four and a half hour shift a week.
You can get more information on volunteering here.
Young people can contact Childline for free 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on 0800 1111 or via 1-2-1 chat on www.childline.org.uk
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