Karen Barnes
Karen is an HM Inspector of Railways at the Office of Rail and Road. Her day job involves holding duty holders to account, providing public and passenger assurance on health and safety, and striving for a better and improved railway through inspections and reactive investigatory work.
Karen became involved with Samaritans shortly after ORR helped launch the Million Hour Challenge in April 2019, when she had also recently suffered a bereavement in her family.
She volunteers for three to four hours a week as a listening volunteer at the Ware (Herts and Essex) branch.
“Having suffered a tragic loss, I received overwhelming support from my family, friends and colleagues at ORR, which got me thinking about what I would have done and who I would have spoken to if I hadn’t had that support network around me.
“After looking at Samaritans website, I then attended a day session with a group of other applicants where trainers talked to us about what is involved, what services they offer, and to give us an opportunity to decide if it was something we wanted to do.
“I then went to the interview, was accepted, and put onto the training programme, which was one of the best training courses I’ve ever done. The support was amazing - they were very upbeat despite the difficult subjects we deal with.
“Then you’re issued with a mentor. Once you’re ready, you then go up to the duty room to listen in to calls, and then when you feel comfortable and ready you start to take some calls - alongside your mentor who will offer advice and debriefs after every call.
“It’s improved my competence at work and has given me a lot of skills, particularly when dealing with the bereaved and people who have suffered life-changing injuries. We all think that we listen, but actually when you do the training you realise that you don’t listen as well as you think you do.
“I certainly have more patience now than I used to do. I’m a lot more empathetic and it’s taught me to be open minded, nonjudgemental and to stop and think about what I’m going to say next.
“I thought I would just be taking skills from work to Samaritans, but they have taught me far more that I can take back to my role at ORR.
“I was definitely apprehensive when I first went along, but it gives you such a sense of fulfilment to be able to help someone. It really is an honour and privilege to be there during someone’s time of need and to explore their options with them.
“It definitely isn’t for everyone, but there are a lot of other things you can do in terms of fundraising and organising events, and Samaritans will welcome any other resource you can provide. I would always encourage people just to go along to the selection day to help you decide if it’s for you or not.”