For this month's 'Spotlight on a Volunteer' of Great Yarmouth Samaritans we say hello to Glen.
We sat down with Glen, one of our fantastic listeners, to find out more about his experiences of being a volunteer, why he became a Samaritan, and his interests outside of the Samaritans.
How long have you been a Samaritan and what is your role within the branch?
I have been a volunteer with Samaritans for 5 years now and have been fortunate to hold several roles. My main role is as a listener, supporting our callers on the phones, but I am also part of the training team for our new volunteers. Over the pandemic a lot of this took place over zoom, but we are pleased to now be able to carry this out at our branch in Great Yarmouth. Last year I also took on responsibility for helping our branch volunteers with their ongoing training with Samaritans to ensure the branch continues to offer a quality and relevant service to our callers.
Trying to help our callers through their bad times is an acknowledgement of the support that I have always had.
Glen, Great Yarmouth Samaritans Listening Volunteer
Why did you become a Samaritan?
I feel I have been very fortunate in my life, and have a wonderful support network of family and friends to help me through the challenging times that we all face from time to time. However I am aware that many people do not have this, and may also have faced extreme difficulties in their lives. I suppose trying to help our callers through their bad times is an acknowledgement of the support that I have always had.
Tell us about your life outside the Samaritans, what do you like to do?
I am lucky to have a wonderful family life with my wife and two daughters that I enjoy spending my time with, but I also enjoy football a great deal. I continue to play 5 a side (albeit a bit slower these days!) and have a season ticket at Carrow Road to watch the varying fortunes of the Canaries. I also try to catch the odd England match, sometimes abroad.
What is your ‘happy place’? It can be a place, view, activity, or anything that makes you happy.
As for my 'happy place' - can I be greedy and have 3? Firstly sitting at home with the family having a conversation, and being put right by my daughters. Secondly standing in the lower Barclay at Norwich watching the football, when for 90 minutes or more the only thing of concern is how many goals we score/conceed. Finally, sitting in the pub with my mates after the match discussing where it invariably all went wrong again.