I want volunteer work by email such as counselling support for people in need such as samaritans?

Question

I'd love to volunteer for an organisation such as the Samaritans that helps other in need. I work 40+ hrs a week so wouldn't be able to go to an office or anything. I'm thinking of something I can do from home by email. Does anyone volunteer or work doing anything similar to this? It's something I've wanted for a while and have tried googling all sorts but cant find anything! I've looked at Samaritans but it appears that it's all office based.

Basically, some form of support where I receive emails from people who need help, support, advice or just a chat and then I can reply to them mainly in evenings when I'm home from work.

I'm starting a diploma in grief and berevement counselling in a few weeks too and I think first hand experience with support will help me with my studies. THanks in advance!

Answer 1

Look online for a support group for a subject area you have experience in.

I am the mom to a teenage preemie, worked with the hospital preemie parent support group, and have done a lot of research on preemies. I belonged to online preemie parent support groups, and some of them had programs where they would set up a new preemie parent with an experienced preemie parent to help them through the emotional roller coaster ride of the nicu and beyond. We could help point them in the right direction for information, help them learn to advocate for their child, let them know about the programs available to help their child, etc. This was done mostly by emails, but sometimes by chat. A big part of the support was emotional, just writing to someone who had been through the same thing, so they knew they weren't alone, and it was more intimate than the support group forums, so some people who might hesitate to post personal things would feel better that only one person would see them.

If you can't find a one on one support situation, perhaps you can start by answering questions on a forum and often people will start to write to you individually or you can suggest to the forum owner about one on one support.

To get experience for a job, in-person would probably be a lot more helpful, so much is lost over the net and some people don't communicate well, whereas in person you can see their expressions, etc. It's very hard to volunteer when you have a full-time job, but you might see if you can put in a few hours one night every couple of weeks or on the weekends. A senior citizens home or a hospital might be a good place to start if you can do in-person.

Good luck!