Jo

Jo has been volunteering with Cruse Scotland for over four years. She shares what volunteering has given her personally and how she got involved.

 

 

What initially drew you to volunteer with Cruse Scotland?

 

My own personal loss and my interest in working as a bereavement counsellor were what initially drew me to volunteer with Cruse Scotland.

 

I wanted to have more conversations and connect with others who understood loss similarly to me.

 

I hoped I could offer some comfort or support to people who had been brave enough to reach out and ask for help by phoning Cruse Scotland.

 

 

What has volunteering with Cruse Scotland given you personally?

 

Volunteering has given me something that paid employment has never given me, not in the way I hoped.

 

It has allowed me to experience the beauty of sitting with another human in a place that many of us struggle to be, let alone sit.

 

Volunteering strips everything away and leaves you with the most beautiful thing in the world: true human connection, and in my experience, from one person who has lost to another.

 

I recommend that everyone should volunteer in some capacity because what I have gained from my volunteering roles within Cruse Scotland has been utterly priceless.

 

 

Is there a particular conversation or connection with a client that has stayed with you?

 

Two clients in particular stand out, although so many do, to be honest.

 

One of these clients phoned the helpline after her son took his own life.

 

Most of this phone call was spent sitting with this mum, just holding space for her sobbing and wails of pain and sadness, which I will never forget, nor would I want to.

 

It was the most precious moment, and I felt utterly privileged and honoured to just be there.

 

 

How do you manage the emotional weight of hearing grief stories?

 

I manage by having great self-awareness, meditation, reflective writing and through my supervision sessions.

 

Anything I need to address or be available for, I make sure I do. I like to practice what I preach also; I must manage the emotional weight that I bear to help others understand the importance of the emotional weight we all bear with loss.

 

 

What is the most rewarding aspect of helping support people going through grief?

 

Truly helping people understand, talk about, and normalise grief more.

 

There is so much loss and pain in the world that, unfortunately, none of us will escape. I find educating people and showing support through true human connection and kindness extremely rewarding indeed.

 

People are so much more capable than they realise, but fear of death has led us to sit in shame and guilt when our loved ones die, when what we all need is to understand that it’s ok to feel, and to be heard, held and understood.

 

 

What would you say to someone considering volunteering at Cruse Scotland?

 

It will change your life, and it will give you something that no paid employment could ever or will ever give you.