Meet the Childline volunteers 230 miles apart counselling children in Welsh

• Volunteers helping the NSPCC’s Childline service counsel Welsh-speaking children
• Volunteers Rhun and Huw gift their spare time to listen to the concerns of worried children
• Childline Prestatyn desperate for more Welsh-speaking volunteers

Volunteers for the NSPCC’s Childline service have been sharing their experience of supporting its Welsh-language counselling offer, despite living in different countries and 230 miles apart.

Rhun Dafydd, 29, and Huw Meredith, 60, signed up to volunteer with Childline earlier this year and as Welsh speakers are ready to counsel children in both English and Welsh, depending on the preference of the young person contacting the service.

Childline volunteers counsel children and young people every day of the year about anything that might be worrying them from mental health concerns and exam stress to family relationships and abuse. Children and young people who want to speak with a Welsh speaking Childline counsellor can contact the service by phone or online and make that request.

Rhun lives in Ruthin and volunteers at Childline Prestatyn, while Huw has lived most of his life in London, learning Welsh on a gap year spent in Aberystwyth.

Huw first heard about Childline when it was set up in the 1980s because of his work with looked-after children. His career took a different direction, but he was always keen to come back to supporting children and young people.

Huw says: “I retired last year and then in January an article popped up in Cymru Fyw to say that Childline was very busy because of COVID, and needed more Welsh-speaking volunteers. It dawned on me that as it’s a phone and online service, I could get involved from London. I got in touch and here I am!

“The volunteer counsellor training is second to none, so I felt fully immersed in the unique Childline counselling model from day one, and this helped me through the first few shifts as I grew in confidence.

“Volunteers have to be prepared for contacts from children dealing with very challenging situations – often this is made far worse because they have no-one to talk to about it all. So even if you’re just on the end of the line, hearing and listening to what they’re saying, you can feel like you’ve made a big difference. And you are well supported and supervised on shift to help you with difficult conversations or when the child is at risk.”

On a recent trip to visit friends in Wales, Huw visited the Childline base in Prestatyn to meet with other Welsh speaking Childline counsellors. There are 12 Childline bases across the UK, including in Cardiff and Prestatyn, that have adapted and evolved to ensure Childline could provide a service during the pandemic, despite the reduced availability of volunteers for reasons such as shielding and home schooling.

Volunteers deliver counselling sessions to children and young people about everything from abuse, neglect and suicide to relationship breakdowns, exam stress and mental health concerns. Almost 90,000 counselling sessions have been delivered UK-wide in the last year about mental wellbeing and abuse alone.

Huw says: “Childline has been here throughout the pandemic and it’s been more important than ever that children have a safe space to talk, especially when their contact with other children and adults has been so limited. We should remember that although COVID has brought its own problems, all the other issues that children have to deal with – abuse, bereavement, bullying and so on – have not gone away.”

Rhun adds: “On a weekly basis young people have told me the difference that Childline is making. They have shared how important it is for them to have someone to speak to, who listens and cares. If Childline wasn’t making a difference, then the service wouldn’t be as busy as it.”

Childline relies on volunteers to keep the service going, however the bases in Cardiff and Prestatyn need adults, particularly Welsh-speakers, willing to spare a minimum of 4.25 hours a week to help them be there for children and young people in their moments of need.

Rhun says: “I was lucky enough to grow up in a Welsh community, so the use of English was truly a second language. If I had any issues as a child, I would always feel more comfortable talking in Welsh, because it is that language that closely represents home to me, and that home represents safety. I believe all children have the right to have that safety in whichever language they choose.”

Huw added: “For children contacting Childline, it often takes immense courage and resilience to get in touch with Childline in the first place, and quite often children struggle to find the words to express how they’re feeling.

“So, imagine how much harder that is if you don’t think you’ll be able to use your first language, or if you get through a counsellor who doesn’t understand you. Childline is a national service so counsellors and supervisors across the UK need to be aware, and confident enough to make sure the child gets through to a Welsh-speaking counsellor – but we need more of those so we can respond every time!”

For more information about volunteering for Childline and the comprehensive training package it includes, contact Sally.King-Sheard@nspcc.org.uk or 01745 772 101 for the Prestatyn base, or volunteerrecruitment@nspcc.org.uk for the Cardiff base.

Reflecting on his volunteer experience since joining in January, Huw says: “It’s still early days for me, but so I far I’d say this is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, and I’d highly recommend it.

“I’ve learned so much just from the training, about myself and how I relate to others. And on shift, it is such a great privilege to have young people share a part of their lives with me, so I can play even a small part in supporting them in return.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Rhun who adds: “For years I felt that there was something missing in my life, and I have found it becoming a Childline volunteer. One thing I never expected was that my role at Childline would be so important to me personally.

“There are some feelings in life that are too big and special to be put into words, and helping children and young people is one of those. I would recommend a role at Childline for anyone who wants to make a positive difference to someone else’s life, or even their own.”

Childline is available for young people 24/7 on 0800 1111 or at www.childline.org.uk.