Tell us, what does Lifeline do in Shanghai?

It got started in March of 2004, and I’ve been here a long time. Over the years more and more expats have come, and with them more and more problems as well. So there was a nurse from a consulate and a few counselors who noticed that there was no place for expats to go when they were having a bad day, so they decided to start Lifeline Shanghai and based it on the Tokyo Lifeline. Right now we try and cover the phones every day from 10am-10pm, even on holidays, so people can call during that time. Lifeline is completely confidential and anonymous, because sometimes you have problems that you don’t feel you can tell your friends, and by calling Lifeline and venting your problems it could give you a new perspective.

What kind of issues do you deal with?

Domestic abuse, alcoholism, drug abuse, and more teenagers are calling now, usually about stress, relationships etc. It gets overwhelming for them, and sometimes they can’t talk with their parents. We will refer callers to enlgish speaking counselors.

Is the hotline bilingual? Multilingual?

It is an English speaking service, but if a caller is French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, then we can tell them when they can call to speak with someone who speaks their language. It’s incredible the amount of languages that our volunteers can speak!

How long have you been involved in Lifeline?

Three years now. A friend of mine was already on the board, and she asked me to interview. Not everyone works the phone lines, but everyone is encouraged to take the 3 day training, just to understand what the volunteers do and what type of calls they get.

Did you feel culture shock and anxiety when you first moved here?

Yes, I’m not sure if there is anybody that doesn’t. When you come from your home country where you have a strong support system, and you move to a new country--everything is different. I remember battling culture shock, but then I tried to have an open mind and that’s when everything changed for me. Here in the expat community, I made close friends very quickly, because I needed them. When you’re friends leave, you have to maintain those friendships and make new ones. One year, four of my close friends left, and it hit me like a brick—it was very hard because I didn’t have anyone to talk to. I kept thinking I could never have a friendship like that again. But I made myself get out there and get involved, and meet people—and then I started to feel better.

What do callers usually call about? Are they mostly men or women?

Still mostly women, but with the economy situation we are getting more men calling with depression, stress etc. We never give advice, because we don’t know if that’s the right thing for that caller. We listen, give information and try to get the caller to think of an idea that would work for them in that situation—this will open up their train of thought and get them thinking about solutions.

If I wanted to get involved and help out with the hotline, how would I become a volunteer?

You would contact Tiffany Wandy first at volunteer@lifelineshanghai.com. There are many ways you can help. You can become a volunteer answering calls, and you would take the three day training to learn how to handle calls, and other types of background on Shanghai. After that you are pretty much ready to take calls. You could help out in the office, website management, or our fundraising events. We also look for corporate sponsorship from companies, since a lot of their people end up needing our services--so by the company sponsoring us we can help the employees.

The program Youth Link is about reaching out to international schools; can you tell me more about it?

Youth Link is the school community program. We have student representatives in many of the international schools, who get the word out to their friends who need help or someone to talk to, and let them know that they can call Lifeline.

What is one memorable experience you’ve had with Lifeline?

I was at a fundraising fair selling candles, and a woman came up to me and said “I’m going to buy a bunch of these candles, you have no idea how much Lifeline helped me.” It’s usually at these fairs that people will let me know that every time they called Lifeline they felt a little better, and it feels good to know that.

How has being a volunteer in Shanghai affected you?

More than anything else, I’ve learned to have compassion for the types of calls we get. I’ve gotten calls from all types of different situations and I’ve learned to never judge someone and to be more accepting and open towards people. I love Shanghai and I love giving back to the community—it’s given me a purpose.

Do you have one piece of advice for people who have just moved to Shanghai and are struggling?

If they’re feeling isolated or not talking to anybody, that’s when they need to call someone—call Lifeline, call a friend, and just vent. We’re there to support our callers, and it’s important they know that it’s confidential and anonymous. The isolation will get worse if you don’t verbalize the way you feel. You’ll feel a release and a feeling of a better perspective on your problems, knowing that someone cares.

Danielle Jenster

Details
Tel: 6279-8990
Email: volunteer@lifelineshanghai.com
Web: www.lifelineshanghai.com