Listening - Volunteer work in the church telephone counselling service

"The facilities of the Church telephone counselling wants to give every person in distress, despair or suicidal danger, in respect for his freedom, the possibility of making immediate contact with a person who, like a friend, is willing and able to listen to the caller and to have a helping conversation with him."
"All the help given by the Church telephone counselling aims at encouraging life and enabling people to overcome life crises." [International Federation for Telephone Pastoral Care - IFOTES]

Your Tasks

These statements are among other things the basis for the work of the Church telephone counselling. One of the characteristics of the Church telephone counselling is that the telephone is manned day and night by a staff member, and is thus available to callers. Who calls in a crisis here, enters with a "layman" in connection, who was prepared 1 year for this work.

According to our experience well trained and engaged laymen, who co-operate in the team, can accomplish the work at the telephone particularly well.

The Church telephone counselling Berlin was created 1988. It operates under ecumenical sponsorship by the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg, the Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of Berlin, the Federation of Evangelical Free Churches, the Caritasverband Berlin e.V. and the Diakonisches Werk der Evangelischen Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz e.V.

What's needed

For the training and the cooperation in the Church telephone counselling Berlin certain requirements and abilities are necessary, such as own psychological stability etc.

Time required

Important notice

The youngcaritas Berlin belongs to the Caritasverband für das Erzbistum Berlin e.V. and promotes young people's commitment. Our goal is to introduce young people to politically and socially "explosive" topics and to teach them a more attentive and conscious use of environmental resources, both through theoretical input and through practical implementation. The goal of youngcaritas Berlin is to win as many young people as possible for voluntary work, be it for the youngcaritas projects "Kulturbuddys", *vergissmeinnicht* or through counselling and placement in various institutions and projects.