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Author: Pam Jenkinson

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Volunteering at Night Light Can Change your Life!

by Pam Jenkinson – Night Light Project Worker

According to the Citizens Advice Bureau, every volunteer gets something different from their volunteering experience. Whether this is by making a positive difference to people’s lives, improving their own self-esteem and wellbeing or gaining invaluable work experience. At the Night Light Cafes our volunteers all come from different backgrounds, life experiences and motives, each bringing a different flavour to the teams they work in. We value each and every one of them and are so grateful they willingly give up their time to support our guests who are struggling with their mental health.

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An Interview with one of Night Light Cafe’s new Network Leads

with Pam Jenkinson and Dean Bell

The Night Light Cafe team are very excited to recently employ three new members of staff. Two will oversee the running of our Countywide cafes in the North and South of Lincolnshire. Another member of staff will support them both as a Project Worker. Dean Bell, has become our Network Lead for the South of Lincolnshire and I chatted with him about his new role:-

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How to become a Night Light Volunteer

by Michelle Russell – Night Light Project Worker

Volunteering for a project like the Night Light Cafe, can be a really rewarding thing to do. But sometimes it can be quite daunting not knowing what the process will be like and how it works. So, I spoke with our Project Worker, Pam Jenkinson, who coordinates the new volunteer’s for our cafes.

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Inside the Night Light Cafe

by Pam Jenkinson – Night Light Cafe Project Worker

The Night Light Cafes are an out of hours, non-clinical support service for people who are struggling with their mental health. These safe spaces are hosted by teams of trained volunteers, who provide a warm welcome alongside a listening service and signposting advice.

But what does it look like inside our cafes? What would you expect to see?

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Where do You go to Feel Safe?

Stacey Marriott – Night Light Cafe Coordinator

The little girl buried her face in her mother’s chest and snuggled into her place of safety. We were at a party and she was feeling shy amid the hubbub and bustle. I smiled to myself, reflecting on the importance of having a ‘safe place’. I had recently found myself in a situation where I had felt like that little girl. It was the anniversary of a traumatic event and I had been along to a church celebration day. I had felt OK when I left my house but when I arrived and was surrounded by a large crowd of people who weren’t aware of the impact this traumatic event had had on me many years before, I started to feel very vulnerable and fraught with anxiety.

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An Interview with Fran, our Night Light Fundraising Volunteer!

by Pam Jenkinson – Night Light Project Worker

One of our wonderful volunteers Fran is planning to embark on a quest to help raise funds for the Night Light Cafe. He’s doing a sponsored bike ride from Lincoln to Louth and back to Lincoln. Up and down those Wolds (rather him than us!). I asked Fran some questions about why he has chosen to do this challenge for Night Light

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Burnout – A Post COVID Phenomenon

By Pam Jenkinson – Night Light Café Project Worker

When the first COVID lockdown hit, I am not going to lie, there was a part of me that let out a sigh of relief. Being an introverted person, the idea of not having to socialise and having my small family unit consistently close to me, felt like bliss. However, what has become increasingly upsetting to me is hearing stories of others, who actually found lockdown exhausting. Many had additional work pressures put on them due to their job role, alongside having to juggling home schooling and limited house space to work.  Where I had rested, they had to push through with high demands put upon them and subsequently not stopped or had any recovery time since; they had experienced burnout. 

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An interview with two Night Light Volunteers

by Stacey Marriott – Night Light Café Coordinator

We recently interviewed Rae and Alan, who volunteer at the Birchwood Night Light Cafe. Here is what they had to say!

Tell us a little bit about yourselves and how you first heard about the Night Light cafe:

Rae: I am the secretary of Churches Together in Hykeham and Swallowbeck and enjoy keeping in touch with the church’s members. We have a monthly prayer time as Churches Together and when the Night Light cafes were first introduced to Churches in Lincoln, we made them a topic for prayer.

Alan: I presently work voluntarily with the Salvation Army with their Homeless project, having worked with the homeless and rootless in London, Preston and Lincoln.

Along with the above I support my wife with the care of lady with learning difficulties who lives in her independent accommodation and am involved in a city-wide prayer movement.

I learnt about Night Light cafes from the coordinator at a prayer meeting for Churches Together.

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Interview with Mel, a Night Light Café Volunteer

by Pam Jenkinson – Night Light Café Project Worker

Mel, has been volunteering at one of our Night Light cafes since 2021. She shares with us the passion and vision of what Night Light stands for and we so appreciate the commitment and enthusiasm she gives to the café she volunteers at. I asked Mel about why she has chosen to volunteer with us at Night Light and why she feel there is a necessity for this project.

Mel – Night Light Volunteer
  1. Where did you first hear about Night Light Café? 

I contacted the Volunteer Centre Services as I was looking for volunteering with an organisation on the mental health field and they told me about this project and how brilliant it was.

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