Lancaster Nightline aims to follow 6 principles:
- Confidentiality – At Lancaster Nightline, we want every caller to feel that they can talk about anything safely. Confidentiality is one of our core principles, and we will not disclose anything our callers say to anyone outside our organisation. However, in certain circumstances, information needs to be disclosed. Please find our confidentiality framework, detailing under which circumstances we would break this policy, here: Confidentiality Framework
- Anonymity – We won’t make any attempt to find out who you are, and we won’t ask for your name. Nightline volunteers are anonymous themselves.
- Non-Judgementalism – We have no political, religious, social or moral views. We respect the views of any caller and do not judge you for anything you’ve done.
- Non-Directivness – We won’t try to force you towards any course of action, or get you to think about the situation in any particular way.
- Empathy – Each call is about YOU as an individual – your thoughts and your feelings. Our volunteers are trained in empathetic listening to make sure we see things from your perspective.
- Dedication – All of our volunteers are passionate about helping our callers, and are always here to listen.
All of our volunteers follow these principles when taking calls. These principles protect both you as a caller, and us as volunteers. We’ll listen, not lecture.