中英文稿

她在火車站站臺(tái)上 用一塊碎玻璃劃破手腕，?然后陷入了斷斷續(xù)續(xù)， 疲憊不堪的夢(mèng)魘。?清晨，當(dāng)車站廁所對(duì)公眾開放時(shí)，?她拖著疼痛的雙腿，走向廁所。?她看著鏡子中的自己，?突然哭了起來(lái)。?她的臉污濁不堪，滿是淚痕；?身上的襯衫破破爛爛，布滿血跡。?她看起來(lái)就像已經(jīng)露宿街頭三個(gè)月， 而不是僅僅三天。?她用盡全力把自己清洗干凈，?她的手臂和腹部都鉆心地疼。?想清理傷口，?可是傷口一經(jīng)按壓就會(huì)再次流血。?她需要縫補(bǔ)傷口，但卻沒(méi)辦法去醫(yī)院。?因?yàn)橹搬t(yī)院的人又把她送回了家，?回到他的掌控之下。?她裹緊夾克——?以便擋住斑斑血跡。?她又重新看著鏡子里的自己，?她看起來(lái)正常了一些， 但是這已經(jīng)不重要了。?她心里只想著一件事。?她走出車站，走進(jìn)了附近一個(gè)電話亭。

（電話鈴聲）?（電話鈴聲）

一個(gè)女士：這里是撒瑪利亞會(huì)， 有什么需要嗎？?你好，這里是撒瑪利亞會(huì)， 我能為您做些什么？

女孩：（哭泣）我——我不知道。

女士：怎么了？你聽起來(lái)很難過(guò)。

（女孩的哭聲）

女士：先告訴我你的名字好嗎？?我是 Pam，該怎么稱呼你呢？?你在哪里打電話？?現(xiàn)在安全嗎？

女孩：我在倫敦的一個(gè)電話亭里。

Pam：感覺你年紀(jì)很小，你多大了呀？

女孩：十四歲。

Pam：為什么這么難過(guò)呢？

女孩：我只想去死，每天早上醒來(lái) 都希望自己已經(jīng)死了。?我想，如果他沒(méi)有殺了我，我就自殺。

Pam：我很慶幸你能打電話來(lái)。?現(xiàn)在跟我說(shuō)說(shuō)你的經(jīng)歷吧。

蘇菲·安德魯茲：Pam 繼續(xù)溫柔地 詢問(wèn)有關(guān)小女孩的事情。?女孩說(shuō)的很少，很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間都在沉默。?但是 Pam 知道她還在，?因?yàn)橛?Pam 的聆聽，她得到了安撫。?我就是那個(gè) 14 歲的女孩，?那個(gè)在電話亭打電話的女孩。?我從家里逃出來(lái)，睡在倫敦的街頭。?我的父親和他的朋友 對(duì)我實(shí)施了性虐待。?自殘自殺的念頭整天纏繞著我。?我第一次聯(lián)系撒瑪利亞會(huì) 是 12 歲的時(shí)候。?幾個(gè)月前我的母親拋棄了我， 獨(dú)自離開家，?我感到無(wú)比絕望。?我父親和他朋友帶給我的傷害?將我徹底擊垮。?我逃出家門，想回到學(xué)校。?我醉醺醺地到了學(xué)校，?只剩下絕望，只想結(jié)束生命。?這個(gè)時(shí)候撒瑪利亞會(huì)出現(xiàn)了。

撒瑪利亞會(huì)在 1953 年左右成立，?是英國(guó)一個(gè)全天候開放 的機(jī)密服務(wù)熱線，?旨在幫助任何感到絕望 或有自殺傾向的人，?就像我曾經(jīng)那樣。?每時(shí)每刻都會(huì)有志愿者接聽電話，?并且電話內(nèi)容是對(duì)外保密的。?青少年時(shí)期，每當(dāng)我陷入極端的絕望，?撒瑪利亞會(huì)都會(huì)成為我活下去的支柱。?他們向我保證，絕不會(huì)泄露對(duì)話內(nèi)容，?所以我愿意相信他們。?他們無(wú)疑為我的遭遇感到擔(dān)憂， 但卻沒(méi)有表現(xiàn)出來(lái)，?只是陪著我，聆聽我，不做主觀臆測(cè)。?他們總是鼓勵(lì)我，讓我去尋求幫助。?和他們交流的時(shí)候，我從來(lái)沒(méi)有失控過(guò)，?然而相比之下，?我生命的其他部分全都失控了。?似乎只有自殘才是我唯一?可以掌控的東西。

幾年后，我開始能夠控制我的生活。?我從身邊得到了一些支持，?讓我能放下過(guò)去，好好生活。?我在虐待中生存下來(lái)，沒(méi)有被摧毀。?21歲的時(shí)候，我再一次 聯(lián)系了撒瑪利亞會(huì)，?因?yàn)槲蚁氤蔀橐幻驹刚撸?來(lái)回饋他們帶給我的幫助，?因?yàn)槭侨霈斃麃啎?huì)拯救了我。?我知道，感同身受地 聆聽他人雖然簡(jiǎn)單，?卻可以產(chǎn)生神奇的效果。?我知道，剔除主觀臆測(cè)的聆聽?將產(chǎn)生巨大的影響。

所以我努力學(xué)習(xí)，接受教育，?還找到了一份工作。?我享受在撒瑪利亞會(huì) 做志愿者的時(shí)光。?“享受”這個(gè)詞用在這里似乎有些奇怪，?因?yàn)闆](méi)有人希望他人?被困在無(wú)盡的悲慘和痛苦當(dāng)中。?但是我知道，傾聽有很大的幫助，?那些曾經(jīng)在我絕望之時(shí)， 認(rèn)真聆聽我的人，?對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)最為重要，?能夠在撒瑪利亞會(huì)幫助他人?讓我有一種深深的滿足感。

在撒瑪利亞會(huì)做志愿的歲月里， 我扮演過(guò)許多角色。?不過(guò)我想，高潮出現(xiàn)在 2008 年，?當(dāng)時(shí)我被任命為會(huì)長(zhǎng)，為期三年。?我曾經(jīng)作為一個(gè)急需幫助的可憐人?在電話亭里打求助電話，?現(xiàn)在，作為撒瑪利亞會(huì)的全國(guó)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，?我要為 22000 名志愿者負(fù)責(zé)。?那個(gè)時(shí)候我常常跟他們開玩笑說(shuō)，?如果你曾經(jīng)打過(guò)這里的求助電話，?那你最終可能會(huì)成為這里的管理者。

就像我一樣。?但我想，盡管許多高深專業(yè) 的工作主導(dǎo)著這個(gè)世界，?簡(jiǎn)單的聆聽?卻可以徹底改變生活。?這是最簡(jiǎn)單的理念，?可以應(yīng)用到生活的方方面面。

在 20 世紀(jì) 80 年代， 我向撒瑪利亞會(huì)求助的時(shí)候，?沒(méi)有人愿意談?wù)撆巴瘑?wèn)題。?受害者們常常被指責(zé)，被揣測(cè)。?沒(méi)人愿意談?wù)撍?因?yàn)橛X得那是奇恥大辱。?今天，另一個(gè)問(wèn)題也被臆測(cè)，?被視為恥辱，?那就是孤獨(dú)。?孤獨(dú)寂寞這種精神狀態(tài) 對(duì)健康影響很大，?會(huì)嚴(yán)重影響精神健康。?最近一項(xiàng)研究對(duì)此 進(jìn)行了系統(tǒng)的考察，?證明孤獨(dú)增加了死亡率，?或者說(shuō)導(dǎo)致死亡時(shí)間提前?高達(dá) 30%。?孤獨(dú)還能引發(fā)高血壓，加重抑郁程度，?因酗酒或吸煙?導(dǎo)致的死亡機(jī)率也因此增加。?相比一天吸 15 根煙——是每天， 不是一輩子吸 15 根——?孤獨(dú)對(duì)人體的危害?要大得多。?孤獨(dú)還會(huì)引發(fā)嚴(yán)重的老年癡呆。?最近一項(xiàng)研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，?感到孤獨(dú)的人患阿爾茲海默癥 的機(jī)率是一般人的兩倍。?當(dāng)然，很多一個(gè)人生活 的人并不感到孤獨(dú)，?但是照顧可能患有癡呆癥的人?卻是一項(xiàng)孤獨(dú)的工作。

最近一項(xiàng)里程碑式的的研究 對(duì)孤獨(dú)進(jìn)行了?恰當(dāng)、清晰的定義，?這是一種由缺少或喪失陪伴引起的?主觀、消極的感受。?當(dāng)我們所擁有的人際關(guān)系 與期望的人際關(guān)系?在質(zhì)量與數(shù)量上不匹配時(shí)，?孤獨(dú)就產(chǎn)生了。?在我的生命中，別人私下對(duì)我的關(guān)心，?他人對(duì)我耐心的聆聽，?對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)是最好的幫助。?我知道在坐的各位都是專業(yè)人士，?你們也扮演著重要的角色。?但是對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，那些志愿者愿意花時(shí)間?愿意剔除臆測(cè)， 保守秘密來(lái)傾聽我的訴說(shuō)，?已經(jīng)給我的生活帶來(lái) 天翻地覆的改變。?這種改變始終陪伴著我。?大家都已經(jīng)了解，在我的少年時(shí)期，?我的生活脫離了軌道， 每天都在想還要不要活下去，?但是那位志愿者給我?guī)?lái)的影響 始終陪伴著我。?終于，我的人生迎來(lái)了轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)，?我可以放下過(guò)去，好好生活。?所以我想要做出回饋。?我知道，?那些得到幫助從而獲得改變的人們，?也都想做些事情來(lái)幫助他人。?所以我在撒瑪利亞會(huì) 做了 25 年志愿者，以此作為回報(bào)。

2013 年，?我意識(shí)到孤獨(dú)問(wèn)題已經(jīng)成為 人們不愿啟齒的遭遇，?于是在英國(guó)發(fā)起了一條 新的服務(wù)熱線來(lái)幫助老年人，?叫做 “The Silver Line”，?致力于幫助孤獨(dú)寂寞的老年人。?盡管成立的時(shí)間很短， 但我們已經(jīng)接聽了 150 萬(wàn)個(gè)電話。?我們每天都會(huì)獲得反饋， 我們的影響力在擴(kuò)大。?一些人打電話來(lái)， 是想進(jìn)行一場(chǎng)愉快的交流，?或者詢問(wèn)當(dāng)?shù)氐囊恍┓?wù)信息。?還有些人打電話來(lái)， 是因?yàn)樗麄冇凶詺A向，?或者想要舉報(bào)虐待事件。?也有些人，像我曾經(jīng)那樣， 想要放棄生命。?開通一道熱線， 這是多么簡(jiǎn)單的一件事。?我回想起早些時(shí)候，?我還擁有首席執(zhí)行官 的崇高稱號(hào)的時(shí)候，?也同時(shí)是我自己的 CEO。?這應(yīng)該是我職業(yè)生涯中 最棒的一次會(huì)議了——

成為自己的 CEO。?時(shí)光流轉(zhuǎn)，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)是 2017 年，?我們已經(jīng)擁有超過(guò) 200 名 接聽老年人熱線的員工，?保證熱線全天候工作。?我們也擁有 3000 多名志愿者?每周在家里接聽熱線。?我們也為喜歡寫字的人 提供寫信的渠道，Sliver Letter，?然后以筆友的身份?給期望收到信件的老年人回信。?我們還創(chuàng)立了Silver Circles——?你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們所有活動(dòng)名稱前?都有“Silver”這個(gè)詞—— 這是我們的標(biāo)志。?Silver Circles 是一系列 群體會(huì)談形式的電話，?人們可以在此談?wù)摴餐膼酆谩?我最喜歡的是音樂(lè)組，?每周都有人演奏樂(lè)器，?透過(guò)電話，互相演奏給對(duì)方聽。?不過(guò)有時(shí)候也會(huì)跑調(diào)。

但是他們真的很開心。?“開心”這個(gè)詞挺有趣，?因?yàn)槲抑罢務(wù)摰?都是絕望、孤獨(dú)和寂寞。?但是如果你撥打我們 在英國(guó)的熱線，就可以聽到歡笑聲。?因?yàn)樵?Silver Line，?我們真切地希望留住 老年人們精彩的生活，?記住他們帶來(lái)的經(jīng)歷。?這里有一個(gè)例子，是我們 其中一個(gè)熱線電話的片段。

（音頻）早上好，您撥打的是Silver Line。?我是 Alan，我能為您做些什么呢？

女士：你好 Alan，早安。

Alan：您好。

女士：（語(yǔ)調(diào)歡快）你好呀！

Alan：您今天早上過(guò)的好嗎？

女士：挺好的，謝謝你。

ALan：很高興聽到您說(shuō)一切都好。

女士：電話真是個(gè)好東西，對(duì)吧？

Alan：很偉大的發(fā)明，對(duì)不對(duì)？

女士：我記得，我還是個(gè)小女孩的時(shí)候，?那是很久很久以前了，?如果想要給別人打電話，?必須要跑到商店里去，?用商店里的電話，?付了錢才能打。?所以人們當(dāng)時(shí)并不能 隨心所欲地打電話。

Alan：真是遺憾。

女士：（咳嗽）抱歉。?（咳嗽）?不好意思。?當(dāng)時(shí)，?人們只有在最有必要的時(shí)候 才能打電話。?但是現(xiàn)在，我穿著睡袍， 坐在自己家里打著電話，?多棒呀！

Alan：是很棒！ （笑聲）

SA：我們接聽的電話中， 這樣的情況并不少見。?這些人真的把我們視為家人。

所以 Sliver Line 像撒瑪利亞會(huì)?幫助我一樣幫助著老年人。?接聽人員每時(shí)每刻都在線， 認(rèn)真聆聽，完全保密，?一般不會(huì)提供任何建議。?我們有多久沒(méi)有 只是聆聽而不提供建議了？?這真的很難。?我們經(jīng)常會(huì)在電話上聽到老年人說(shuō)，?“你能不能給我一些建議？”?20 分鐘后，他們會(huì)說(shuō)， “謝謝你的建議”。?但其實(shí)我們根本沒(méi)有提供任何建議。

我們一直在接聽，從未打斷來(lái)訪者，?但是或許對(duì)于那個(gè)人來(lái)說(shuō)， 我們的確提供了建議。?最近，我們對(duì) The Silver Line 進(jìn)行了一項(xiàng)反饋調(diào)查，?詢問(wèn) 3000 名老人對(duì) 這一熱線服務(wù)的看法。?其中有一個(gè)人說(shuō)，?她播打這個(gè)熱線以后，?人生第一次開始扮演 一名板球守門員的角色，?或者你們說(shuō)的棒球捕手那樣，?我來(lái)這兒才兩天， 說(shuō)話就帶有美國(guó)范兒了，?等我回到英國(guó)， 他們肯定都認(rèn)不出我來(lái)了。

但是人生中第一次當(dāng)這樣的“捕手”，?對(duì)她來(lái)說(shuō)真的很重要。

如今 Sliver Line 成了一條完整的專線，?給熱線致電以 尋求幫助的人越來(lái)越多，?他們同樣做出了相應(yīng)的回饋， 如今也開始幫助他人，?他們以志愿者的身份， 加入了我們的大家庭。

就如演講開始那樣， 我也想用自己的經(jīng)歷結(jié)束這個(gè)演講。?每次我談?wù)撈鹱约旱纳睿急陡行疫\(yùn)。?人們就會(huì)問(wèn)為什么會(huì)感到幸運(yùn)。?這是因?yàn)?，在我人生的每個(gè)階段，?在關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻總有貴人相助，?他們信任我。?這種信任轉(zhuǎn)而幫助我?更加相信我自己，這真的非常重要。?每個(gè)人的生命中都要有一個(gè)“捕手”。

那么 Pam?就是我的“捕手”。?她在 30 多年前，?我 14 歲的時(shí)候接聽了我撥打的電話。?所以千萬(wàn)不要低估 人與人之間簡(jiǎn)單的交流，?因?yàn)樗鼤?huì)轉(zhuǎn)化為挽救生命的力量。

謝謝大家。

After cutting her arm with a broken glass,?she fell into a fitful, exhausted sleep on the railway station platform.?Early in the morning, when the station toilets were opened,?she got painfully to her feet, and made her way over to them.?When she saw her reflection in the mirror,?she started to cry.?Her face was dirty and tearstained;?her shirt was ripped and covered in blood.?She looked as if she'd been on the streets for three months, not three days.?She washed herself as best she could.?Her arms and stomach were hurting badly.?She tried to clean the wounds,?but any pressure she applied just started the bleeding again.?She needed stitches, but there was no way she would go to a hospital.?They'd have sent her back home again.?Back to him.?She tightened her jacket --?well, fastened her jacket tightly to cover the blood.?She looked back at herself in the mirror.?She looked a little better than before but was past caring.?There was only one thing she could think of doing.?She came out of the station and into a phone box nearby.

(Telephone rings)?(Telephone rings)

Woman: Samaritans, can I help you??Hello, Samaritans. Can I help you?

Girl: (Crying) I -- I don't know.

Woman: What's happened? You sound very upset.

(Girl cries)

Woman: Why not start with your name??I'm Pam. What can I call you??Where are you speaking from??Are you safe?

Girl: It's a phone box in London.

Pam: You sound very young. How old are you?

Girl: Fourteen.

Pam: And what's happened to make you so upset?

Girl: I just want to die. Every day I wake up and wish I was dead.?If he doesn't kill me, then, I think, I want to do it myself.

Pam: I'm glad you called.?Let's start at the beginning.

Sophie Andrews: Pam continued to gently ask the girl about herself.?She didn't say much; there were lots of silences.?But she knew she was there,?and having Pam on the end of the phone felt so comforting.?The 14-year-old that made that call was me.?That was me in the phone box.?I was running away from home, sleeping rough on the streets in London.?I was being sexually abused by my father and his friends.?I was self-harming every day. I was suicidal.?The first time I called Samaritans, I was 12 and absolutely desperate.?It was a few months after my mother had deserted me,?walked out and left me in the family home.?And the abuse I was suffering at the hands of my father and his friends?had left me a total wreck.?I was running away, I was missing school,?I was arriving drunk.?I was without hope and wanted to die.?And that's where Samaritans came in.

Samaritans has been around since 1953.?It's a 24/7 confidential helpline in the UK?for anyone who might be feeling desperate or suicidal.?Which I certainly was.?Volunteers answer the phone around the clock every day of the year,?and calls are confidential.?During my teenage years, when I was most desperate,?Samaritans became my lifeline.?They promised me total confidentiality.?And that allowed me to trust them.?Disturbing as they no doubt found my story, they never showed it.?They were always there for me and listened without judgment.?Mostly, they gently encouraged me to get help;?I never felt out of control with them --?an interesting parallel,?as I felt so out of control in every other aspect of my life.?It felt my self-harm was probably the only area?where I felt I had any control.

A few years later, I managed to get some control in my life.?And I had appropriate support around me?to allow me to live with what had happened.?I had become a survivor of abuse rather than a victim.?And at 21, I contacted Samaritans again.?This time because I wanted to become a volunteer.?Wanted to pay something back?to the organization that had really saved my life.?I knew that the simple act of listening in an empathetic way?could have a profound effect.?I knew that somebody listening to me without judgment?would make the biggest difference.

So I caught up with my education,?found someone I could persuade to give me a job,?and I enjoyed my volunteering at Samaritans.?And when I say "enjoyed," it's an odd word to use,?because no one would want to think of anyone?being in absolute distress or pain.?But I knew that that profound impact of that listening ear?and someone being alongside me at that desperate time?had the biggest impact,?and I felt a great sense of fulfillment?that I was able to help people as a Samaritan.

In my years volunteering at Samaritans, I was asked to perform many roles.?But I guess the peak came in 2008,?when I was asked to chair the organization for three years.?So I had actually gone from that vulnerable caller?in the phone box, desperate for help,?to being the national lead for the organization?and responsible for 22,000 volunteers.?I actually used to joke at the time?and say if you really screwed up as a caller,?you might end up running the place.

Which I did.?But I guess in a world which is dominated by professionalizing everything we do,?I really understood that that simple act of listening?could have such a life-changing effect.?I guess it's a simple concept?that can be applied across all areas of life.

So in the 1980s, when I called Samaritans,?child abuse was a subject no one wanted to talk about.?Victims were often blamed, victims were often judged.?And it was a topic of shame, and no one really wanted to talk about it.?Today, judgment and shame surround a different issue.?There's a different stigma that's out there.?And the stigma that's there today is to talk about loneliness.?Loneliness and isolation have profound health impacts.?Being lonely can have a significant impact on your own well-being.?Recent systematic review of research?actually said that it increased the mortality rates,?or premature death rates,?by up to 30 percent.?It can lead to higher blood pressure, higher levels of depression,?and actually aligned to mortality rates?that might be more associated with alcohol abuse or smoking cigarettes.?Loneliness is actually more harmful that smoking 15 cigarettes.?A day.?Not in your life, in your day.?It's also associated with higher levels of dementia.?So a recent study also found?that lonely people are twice at risk of Alzheimer's disease.?Of course, there's many people that live alone who are not lonely.?But being a caregiver for a partner that maybe has dementia?can be a very lonely place.

And a recent landmark study gave us a very good, clear definition?of what loneliness is.?And it said it's a subjective, unwelcome feeling?of a lack or loss of companionship.?And it happens when there's a mismatch?between the quality and the quantity of relationships that we have?and those that we want.?Now in my life, the best help I've ever received?has been from those personal connections?and being listened to in an empathetic way.?Professionals, and I'm conscious I'm speaking to a room of professionals,?have a very important place.?But for me, a volunteer giving up their time?and listening to me without judgment in a confidential way,?had such a huge, life-changing effect for me.?And that was something that really stayed with me.?So as you will have gathered, in my teenage years,?I was off the rails, I was going every day wondering if I'd even live the next day.?But that profound impact of the volunteer listening to me stayed with me.?When I finally got to a point in my life?where I felt I could live with what had happened,?I wanted to pay something back.?And in my experience,?people who have been helped in a transforming way?always want to pay something back.?So I started paying back by my 25 years volunteering with Samaritans.

And then, in 2013,?picking up on that whole issue and the new stigma of loneliness,?I launched a new national helpline in the UK for older people,?called The Silver Line,?which is there to support lonely and isolated older people.?In our short history, we've taken 1.5 million calls.?And I know we're having a big impact, based on the feedback we get every day.?Some people might be calling up for a friendly chat,?maybe some information about local services.?Some might be calling because they're suicidal.?Some might be calling up because they're reporting abuse.?And some quite simply, as I was, may have simply just given up on life.?I guess it's a really simple idea, setting up a helpline.?And I look back to those early days?when I had the lofty title, I still have, of chief exec, but in the early days,?I was chief exec of myself.?Which, I have to say, I had the best meetings ever in my career --

as chief exec of myself.?But things have moved on, and now in 2017,?we have over 200 staff listening to older people?every day of the year, 24/7.?We also have over 3,000 volunteers making weekly friendship calls?from their own home.?We also, for people that like the written word,?offer Silver Letters, and we write pen-pal letters?to older people who still enjoy receiving a letter.?And we also have introduced something called Silver Circles --?you notice I'm owning the word "silver" here --?put "silver" in front of it and it's ours.?Silver Circles are group conference calls?where people actually talk about shared interests.?My favorite group is the music group,?where people, every week, play musical instruments?down the phone to each other.?Not always the same tune at the same time.

But they do have fun.?And "fun" is an interesting word,?because I've talked very much about desperation, loneliness and isolation.?But if you came to our helpline in the UK, you would also hear laughter.?Because at the Silver Line,?we do want to cherish the wonderful lives of older people?and all the experiences that they bring.?So here's an example, just a snippet of one of our calls.

(Audio) Good morning, you're through to the Silver Line.?My name's Alan, how can I help?

Woman: Hello, Alan. Good morning.

Alan: Hello.

Woman: (Chipper) Hello!

Alan: Oh, how are you this morning?

Woman: I'm alright, thank you.

Alan: I'm pleased to hear it.

Woman: What a wonderful thing the telephone is, you know?

Alan: It's a remarkable invention, isn't it?

Woman: I remember when I was a little girl,?donkey's years ago,?if you wanted to make a phone call to somebody,?you had to go to a shop?and use the telephone of the shop?and pay the shop for using the telephone and have your phone call.?So you didn't make phone calls just whenever you fancied.

Alan: Oh, no.

Woman: (Coughs) Oh, sorry.?(Coughs)?Excuse me about that.?You had to, you know,?confine your phone calls to the absolute essentials.?And now, here I am, sitting in my own home in my dressing gown still,?and using the telephone, isn't it wonderful?

Alan: It is. (Laughter)

SA: And that's not untypical of a call we might receive at our helpline.?That's someone who really sees us as part of the family.

So Silver Line, I guess, are now helping older people?in the same way that Samaritans has helped me.?They're there 24/7, they're listening confidentially?and quite often not giving any advice.?How often do we really ever listen without giving advice??It's actually quite hard.?Quite often on the phone calls, an older person would say,?"Could you give me some advice, please?"?And 20 minutes later, they say, "Thank you for your advice,"?and we realize we haven't given any.

We've listened and listened, and we haven't interrupted.?But to that person, maybe we have given advice.?We recently conducted a survey at The Silver Line?to 3,000 older people, to ask them what they thought of the service.?And one person quite simply came back and said,?for the first time in her life,?she had what we would call in the sport cricket a wicketkeeper,?and what you would call in baseball, a catcher.?I've been here 48 hours, and I'm talking American.?They will not recognize me when I get home.

But for the first time in her life, she had that catcher,?which is really, really important.

And now it's come full circle, because actually,?people that are calling Silver Line and needing a catcher?are now becoming catchers themselves by putting something back?and becoming volunteers and becoming part of our family.

So I end my talk, really, where I started, talking about my own personal experience.?Because when I talk about my life, I often say that I've been lucky.?And people generally ask me why.?And it's because, at every stage of my life,?I have been lucky enough to have someone alongside me at the right time?who maybe has believed in me,?which in turn has helped me?just to believe a little bit more in myself, which has been so important.?And everyone needs a catcher at some point in their lives.

This is my catcher.?So that's Pam.?And she answered the call to me?when I was that 14-year-old in the phone box, over 30 years ago.?So never, ever underestimate the power of a simple human connection.?Because it can be and so often is the power to save a life.

Thank you.

?