helen’s story

Helen Kidd tells us about her role as a Befriender with Beatson Cancer Charity and reaching the landmark 1,000 calls.

We were delighted to see our Befriending Service hit over 1,000 phone calls. The service, which launched in March 2020, was an idea from the volunteering team to help patients with isolation during lockdown.

Since then, it has continued to be a vital support service for patients and will continue to run due to its success.

Helen Kidd is one of the befrienders –she said it’s helped patients through difficult times.

“It makes me feel really good that we have made over 1,000 calls. We must be doing something right. I’ve only been doing it since last year, it’s the only service I do for Beatson Cancer Charity but I hope to get involved in more.

There’s real gratification when at the end of a call you realise that people are feeling better. The feedback from the users of the service is really positive.

There’s always that fear at the beginning of a call when somebody’s feeling down. You can always tell from the voice or their attitude on the phone. But if you persevere and listenI think the key is listening and listening effectively - and then at the end of the call you realise from their voice that their mood has changed.” beatsoncancercharity.org