Thursday, 14 February 2013

Sorry, No Sympathy, And I'm Not Listening...

A Blackburn‘lifeline’ charity has said it is down to its last few months’ rent.
 Oh noes! A 'lifeline' charity? Gosh! What do they do?
Blackburn Lighthouse, a sympathy listening service, features a team of volunteers who fear their services are in danger.
 A...what?
The team, which provide a sympathetic ear to people who have no one else to talk to, said it can only pay for their base for another two months.
...
Founders Kathleen Barlow and Susan Haresceugh have helped hundreds of people over the past three years.
 I.... Ummm....
“I set this up because when I was diagnosed with epilepsy there was no one to talk to about it. I didn’t need anything else except someone who was willing to listen.”
Maybe it's me but....don't we have a service like this already? A national one? Named after something Biblical...?

Hmmm. It's on the tip of my tongue. If only I had someone to talk to about it...
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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 11:15

    Bunny

    I have a certain degree of sympathy for anyone setting up a service to help others, this is voluntary and local and there to help in the local community this is definitely a good thing. Why do they need funding, surely a Skype number and the volunteers can log in from home would mitigate the need for funding.

    Or do they want the office and the prestige which comes from the office and the staff?

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  2. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 11:24

    Pardon? Sorry...bit deaf in my old age.

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  3. John Pickworth14 February 2013 at 12:09

    a sympathy listening service?

    More like a "lets pray the problem away" service. But each to their own.

    And yes, they are located in a smart city centre managed offices complex. From the Charity Commission records it would appear most of their income is going on rent.

    I can think of numerous ways their problem could be fixed.

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  4. Tatty14 February 2013 at 13:14

    There's lots of ways around these nasty cauts but they ALL involve a lot more effort than picking up a begging bowl. Ho hum.

    Far easier and far trendier nowadays to "blame the cuts". It's the phrase that grants a clear conscience dontchaknow.

    ReplyDelete
  5. JuliaM15 February 2013 at 05:39

    "Or do they want the office and the prestige which comes from the office and the staff?"

    Bingo!

    "Far easier and far trendier nowadays to "blame the cuts". It's the phrase that grants a clear conscience dontchaknow."

    *sigh* It would indeed seem so.

    ReplyDelete