What is Hear to Listen?

Hear to Listen is a wellbeing service offered at Strath Union by the Listeners' team. It provides informal, friendly, confidential, 1 to 1 wellbeing support, in person and online. Sometimes something as simple as a safe space to go to talk to someone, offload your worries, or find out more about additional support on offer is what you need.

Hear to Listen is not counselling, nor an advisory service; it is simply pastoral support: a friendly face and a listening ear to anyone who wants it. Our Listeners' team are always available if you want to chat, offload, or vent to someone - about anything.

Who are the Listeners?
 

The Listeners are all student volunteers, freely giving their time to provide the Hear to Listen service to others. They are from diverse backgrounds, from different years and areas of study, and are all very friendly and approachable. The Listeners' team has over 100 volunteers, from 29 countries and together they staff the Caim space, facilitate daily online support sessions, and operate a mobile outreach programme on campus for students.

The Listeners offer a friendly face and a listening ear. They are happy to hear from students about anything, and can signpost students to other services available on campus when appropriate, such as, the Advice Hub, Disability and Wellbeing services, Strath Sport, Learner Development Services, the Library, and the Chaplaincy.

We chatted to some of the Listeners about H2L and this is what Kris and Ali had to say:

Kris – “A big part of Strath is trying to get round the mental health problems going on with our [student] demographic now. It’s [Hear to Listen] a pretty good idea so you can meet new people and just if people are feeling lonely or are unsure about who they can talk to about certain issues they can come down to speak to us.”

Ali – “I think it’s [Hear to Listen] something I really would have benefited from as I went through uni so it means a lot to me now to be a part of something that would have been helpful to me, and I can give back to students as well.”

Where can you find the Listeners?
 

The Listeners have a special reserved space known as the Caim (sanctuary), on the concourse in front of the Voice office on Level 1 of Strath Union, opposite the main entrance. They also have access to private rooms on the same level if you want to speak confidentially to one of the Listeners 1-to-1.



You can find them here every week, Monday to Saturday, from 1pm until 4pm. They also offer online drop-in sessions on Zoom which you can join anytime between 6pm and 8pm, 7 days a week, which is perfect for students who find it easier to discuss their concerns online, or who are not on campus.

For more information on all things Hear to Listen please contact Marie Cooke via marie.cooke@strath.ac.uk or check out the dedicated Hear to Listen page.