Listening is a skill that needs to be learned and one local group is taking that skill to the streets to help others.
Launched in 2019, The Listening Post Barrie is a group of volunteers trained in deep listening who create safe spaces for people to be heard, says director Ruth McDonald.
McDonald decided to bring the initiative — which has demonstrated success in Anchorage, Alaska and downtown Vancouver — to Barrie after reading an article in 2017 about listening with the marginalized. She managed to get funding in 2018 and officially launched the program in January 2019, with posts at The Busby Centre, the Elizabeth Fry Society, and the Barrie Public Library.
Volunteers come with “no agenda, full-hearted presence, compassion and respect," she says, adding it’s not about trying to fix anything, but rather simply to “be with people.”
“Whether they’re celebrating, struggling or anywhere in between, (we are there) just to accept people exactly where they are and to create that space for people to be able to listen to themselves and honour themselves,” McDonald tells BarrieToday.
Volunteers are trained in deep listening techniques prior to hitting the streets.
Although The Listening Post Barrie is an offshoot of Burton Avenue United Church and is financially supported by a grant from the United Church of Canada Foundation, McDonald says the program is not spiritually based and consists of volunteers from all different walks of life.
And it's there to lend an ear to anyone in the community who may need an ear to bend.
“Anybody can come and we are not prejudging who needs to be heard,” she says. “We all need it. It’s not just the people I listen to — it’s me, too. I need to hear my own voice and value what I am feeling about what I am experiencing in life. It does so much."
Even days where no one comes to see them, MacDonald says having a presence throughout the community is just as important.
“We had somebody take one of our pamphlets because he liked our logo and wanted to do artwork on it — and now he’s taking the training,” she says.
And while the pandemic definitely put a bit of a kink in their plans, it also had some benefits.
They started training online, which McDonald says opened them up to a much larger group of people who may not have otherwise even heard of the program.
"We have trained 25 new people this year, and of that group, 12 are under 30 years old (which is) an interesting statistic," she says.
Samantha Desroches, 25, started as a volunteer in the summer as a way to gain experience for her university program.
“I am going into social work, and this being a very human volunteer experience, (is) why I was interested,” says Desroches. “A lot of people can’t talk to the people in their lives… so they carry these things that they need to get off their chest and that burden around with them in their day-to-day lives.
"Giving them the space to be able to get that off their chest and feel lighter... scientifically it’s proven that’s a very healing thing for a human being," she adds. "Holding space for people is important. You’re literally just showing up for a human being as a human being.”
Kenady George says she initially got involved as a way to give back to her community, but after beginning the deep listening training, she learned that this opportunity would change the way that she interacts with everyone in her own life.
“I learned how to be present and centred in my interactions so that I can truly listen. We think that listening is an inherent skill, but as I've learned, it is definitely acquired," George says. "The Listening Post is providing a safe space for individuals to have their stories truly heard. Everyone deserves to be heard.”
The Listening Post Barrie also helps make the community a more just place, says McDonald
“It levels the playing field because the listener and the sharer are on the same level. No expert, just connection and belonging together," she says.
"People might say 'I just listen' and think that it doesn't count for much, but really what we do is just listening as a way to equalize everyone and raise up each person's value by honouring their experience and story,” McDonald adds. “The way we train is of the heart. That’s our logo, so it’s more of our heart’s intention.
"You can’t connect without a heart connection. I am here, equal with you — not a social worker or family, just another human being.”
