A Nightline is an organisation that students run on campus to help other students with mental health issues. They usually do this by providing various confidential and anonymous overnight listening, emotional support, information, and supplies services.
Nightlines in the UK are autonomous organisations that affiliate with the Nightline Association. The Nightline Association is an umbrella organisation founded to facilitate collaboration between individual Nightlines and promote good practices.
There are Nightline services in universities around the UK, with student volunteers running their services. Student-run listening and information services run by the nightline are open at night when other campus services may be closed.
The Nightline Association’s History
Geoffrey Hosking and Malcolm France were the creators of the first Nightline. After they became aware of the high rate of suicide among the students at the University of Essex in May 1970.
They believed that not having anyone to talk to exacerbated the high levels of stress and anxiety which led to the students committing suicide.
Professor Hosking, a member of Colchester Samaritans and a professor at the university, and Rev France, the University Chaplain and a former Samaritans Director, trained a group of students to provide emotional support to their peers over the phone. The first Nightline shift was on May 7th, 1970, in a disused hut at the edge of the university campus.
People across the country created numerous new Nightlines in the years that followed after seeing the success of the Nightline in fighting against suicide. A’ National Nightline’ was needed to facilitate communication between the Nightlines and organise a yearly conference. So every year, there would be a nomination to decide the national nightline.
The Nightline Association was created and set up as a charity that replaced the national Nightline system and was a permanent body that helped with centralising support for and facilitating cooperation between Nightlines.
Nightline Association Activity
The Nightline Association is a volunteer-led professional body that supports, develops and promotes Nightlines on local and national levels. Almost all of the Association’sAssociation’s volunteers come from the individual local Nightlines. The Association is led by members and these members control how the association operates in areas using the regional coordinator.
The Nightline Association, Good Practice Guidelines scheme ensures that the local Nightline is up to the Association’s standard and maintains that standard. The Association accredits each nightline after they check that the nightline is up to their standards. This system makes Nightlines better run and increases the association’s reputation of having a high standard and being well run.
Nightline Association’s vision
Nightline services to support students in higher and further education to prevent:
- students not talking about their feelings when they need support
- mental and emotional problems compromising students’ education
- students from committing suicide
Nightline Association mission
To increase the quality, availability, accessibility and fame of nightline, so every student knows where to get and has access to confidential emotional peer support and the opportunity to volunteer to provide support to their peers at a Nightline.
How does the Nightline association help?
As the Nightline Association has many nightlines affiliated with it, it does not provide direct service. Still, it tells you if you have a nightline for your university or city on their website. Each of the individual Nightline are autonomous and does not all provide the same services as the other. Some of the most common services that the local Nightlines provide are:
Helpline
The Helpline service is a very common service that most Nightlines provide. This is because some people may find it is easier and faster to speak over the phone than face to face.
The Helpline service is suitable for those who find it easier to express themselves through speech than writing. It is also ideal for those who find it hard to speak to people Face-to-Face, like those with severe social anxiety.
In contrast, it is not suitable for those who struggle to speak with people over the phone or want to speak Face-to-Face and those who find it easier to express themselves through writing.
Most of the Nightline helpline services don’t explicitly state, that you can’t use this service if you speak another language or have any condition that can impair speech or hearing. But if you do, I would recommend using Mind‘s helpline as it has helplines for people who speak other languages or have speech or hearing impairment.
Those with speech or hearing impairment could use the free NGT Lite app to talk with most helplines.
Most Nightlines don’t have call display, so the volunteer can’t see what number you’re calling from, nor can they find out to keep you as anonymous as possible.
Face-to-Face support
Some of the Nightlines have Face-to-Face support or drop-in services where you can go to a local location and speak to a volunteer face to face. This service is not suitable for those who find speaking face to face or travelling uncomfortable.
Instant messaging support
Many Nightlines have Instant messaging support services to provide emotional support. This option is suitable for those who want to text a volunteer and receive support.
Email support
One way to seek support from Nightline is by email. The email support service is ideal for you if you like to have time to compose your thoughts and want to be able to respond when you want. As well as those that could find speaking uncomfortable like those who have hearing or speech impairments. However, it is not for those who find it easier to express themselves through speech or want a quick response.
All of these service details, such as response time, availability, etc., vary for each Nightline
Confidentiality
While Nightline services are all confidential and anonymous in some situations Nightline will break confidentiality for safeguarding or legal reasons. Some of the situations that can cause Nightline to break confidentiality include:
- Volunteers or staff believe that your life or someone else’s life is in danger.
- A threat has been made toward Nightline’s volunteers, staff, services or organisation
- Staff or volunteers think you are harming someone else.