‘You don’t have to say very much — you just listen’
Gabrielle Geraghty was a childcare worker and then raised four children of her own but even she has been taken aback by some of the calls to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Children (ISPCC) since she began volunteering with the Childline service last summer.
“In my work previously I dealt with issues like alcoholism and sex abuse so I had an idea what to expect but it’s not until you hear the children’s voices and listen to their stories that you realise the extent of what’s out there.”
Gabrielle has picked up the phone to children as young as six. Some children just want to chat because they’re lonely or feel ignored while others relay ordeals of abuse and neglect and reveal themselves to be suicidal. But what always strikes her is just how badly they need to talk.
“An awful lot of the time you don’t have to say very much — you just listen. That’s what we’re here for. We’re not here to tell them what to do.”
Sometimes, however, the Childline team are more than just listeners. When a child requests help or, after having the obligations of mandatory reporting explained to them, willingly provides details about an individual causing them harm, the information is passed on to social services for appropriate action to be taken.
The system works well enough — but not swiftly enough. Despite repeated calls from child welfare groups, social workers and the gardaí, there is no 24-hour service so if a child requests help that doesn’t require urgent Garda intervention, their request will have to wait until 9am the next working day.
Given that 78% of calls to Childline are made outside the 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday period, the call for 24-hour cover seems well-supported. But equally of concern to volunteers like Gabrielle is Childline’s inability to answer all the calls that come in — only 63% of callers get through the first time they call.
Part of the problem is lack of funding as Childline relies entirely on voluntary contributions to keep going, but there is also an ongoing need for volunteers.
Prospective volunteers are screened and put through a training programme. Gabrielle did hers on Saturdays over an eight-week period but there are also programmes that run on weeknights.
Once volunteers are ready to go live, they commit to one four-hour session per week, usually in the evenings or at weekends.
“The service is definitely needed and I would highly recommend volunteering to anybody who has a few hours to spare. It’s very little out of your life but it can mean an awful lot to a child.”
lChildline currently operates out of various premises around the country. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer should contact the ISPCC head office in Dublin on 01-234 2006.
