Armin (68) calls 4 hours a week with people he doesn’t know to give them a listening ear. He is a volunteer at the Listening Line, a service for people who need a confidential conversation. The volunteers are busier than ever and that is why they are looking for new colleagues. “As soon as I put the phone down, it rings again for the next call,” says Armin.
The Listening Line volunteers are there day and night for people who cannot or dare not knock on anyone’s door with their story at that time. “All I do is listen without having an opinion, judgment or reproach,” says Armin, who has had more than 1,000 conversations in recent years.
When the 68-year-old volunteer crawls behind his computer screen and logs in, the phone rings immediately. “Good afternoon, with the Listening Line”, says Armin calmly. “I used to always answer the phone cheerfully, but now I do it more neutrally. Because in most cases people call about less cheerful things.”
The conversations range from loneliness, addiction and mourning to current themes such as inflation or war in Ukraine.
“I will then reassess my own life.”
Armin sometimes hears the most harrowing and painful stories. The volunteer still remembers a conversation from years ago. That day he called a woman who had lost her husband and son in a short time. As a result, she ran into financial problems and threatened to become homeless. She also had no contact with family or friends.
“I immediately thought what it would be like for me if I lost my wife, child and house,” says Armin. “I will then reassess my own life, but you have to put that thought aside for your caller. But it allows you to better imagine what it is like for someone and have a better conversation.”
“I remember she said at the end of the conversation that it really mattered that I was there for her. Then I also get tears in my eyes.”
“After a really intense conversation, I start playing the piano.”
The volunteers of the Listening Line in Den Bosch have one conversation after the other. “After a really intense conversation, I start playing the piano. I then have to clear my head for the next conversation.”
Last year, the 1300 volunteers of the Listening Line conducted nearly 330,000 conversations nationwide via telephone, chat and email. And that will only increase. The volunteers of the Listening Line do not know why this is. “During my shift, I almost always see a queue on my screen,” says Armin. “That can be annoying if you want to tell your story.” New volunteers are urgently needed to answer all calls.
But they are sometimes difficult to find. Because volunteers work one night shift per month in addition to a shift of 4 hours a week. As a result, future volunteers sometimes drop out. “And that is a pity, because it is often the conversations at night that make this work special. In addition, people sometimes have nowhere to go with their story and then we are there.”
Those interested can sign up at form on the Listening Line website.