'I've always wanted to help others': Mental health specialist volunteers with NHS to talk to those in need in Wolverhampton
Her job is to listen – and for many struggling following lockdown that is all they need.
Sabrina Ellis is an NHS Volunteer Responder. Her job is to help those across our region whose mental health has been impacted by the coronavirus crisis.
Sabrina said she "always wanted to help others" and signed up to the healthcare scheme in April.
She says she gets as much out of her work as those who are on the other end of the line, adding: "It's a huge part of my life and I know what can happen when people don't seek support – I can be that person who listens."
The mental health specialist signed up after noticing a post on social media and became a 'Check In and Chat' responder who calls people to offer support during the difficult period.
Mrs Ellis said: "I get a notifications on my GoodSam app to say someone in the community needs support and you can accept or reject it. If you don't take it, it goes to someone else so nobody is missed out.
"But if you accept it you get their name and a phone number to contact them. You try always up to three times in case they can't get to the phone, but we try to make contact the first time around.
"When they answer I say my full name and advise them that I'm calling to check in on them and they say 'that's nice, you're not selling me anything!'.
"Someone might feel other people might need a bit of a call and we're just here to start the conversation. It's always going to be person led by the person on the phone – so it's not just question after question for them.
"I ask if they're struggling about stuff and it gives them somebody to talk to because our role is to listen and it's been so important because everybody I've spoken to has experienced loneliness in some form.
"Some people have been shielding before lockdown came into force, so it's been months and months of them being unable to go anywhere. It makes them feel like the NHS do think of people."
Sabrina's role sees her handle between six to eight calls per day – depending on the people she speaks to – but she initially forgot to toggle the "on duty" setting on the app, leading her to receive up to 24 calls a day.
Now she is able to alter the setting to ensure she can help those in need and look after her three children with husband Gethyn Ellis, with her now choosing to go on duty for an hour to contact people from around the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire.
She said: "Over the past couple of weeks I tend to go on duty for an hour, so I handle around six to eight calls an hour, and that might be chasing up people I've not been able to contact.
"Or it might be someone who I need to chat with while having a cup of tea. It will all depend on them – it's usually between 10am and 11am because that's when I'm free.
"My role is based within the community and it's allowed me to give back. I never know where anyone lives – for the safeguarding and safety reasons – but eight calls out of 10 I say 'I'm from Wolverhampton, can't you tell by my accent?' and they reply 'that's lovely' knowing it's a local girl they're having a chat with.
"I've not found anyone whose responded negative to it. Sure there's been some who are coping a little better than others but that's just a reflection of their own wellbeing."
The 32-year-old has referred only one caller to the safeguarding team – ensuring they receive the support they need, with experts calling her within minutes to get the details of the person.
And the mental health specialist said her family had been extremely supportive of her efforts.
Her husband Gethyn and children – 13-year-old Kaydn Ellis-White, Zion Ellis-White and Alexander Ellis– have helped drive her forward.
The healthcare specialist, who grew up in Eastfield, said: "At the beginning of the pandemic I was concerned over people's wellbeing so I thought 'what can I do to help?'
"People in hospital will be cared for and I thought what about people in the community, at home, who are struggling?
"Let me try and find out if there's anything out there I can do. I think I came across it on Twitter and it was asking for volunteers and I read it and spoke to my husband about it and he was very supportive of me.
"So I started on April 13 and my calls started to come through ever since. I manage my time very well.
"I'm a mental health and wellbeing specialist, focusing primarily on students or individuals within employment and I think that played a big part in me doing this.
"If we can play a part in helping then that's fantastic because that might be the only call they receive that day. People who are used to working full-time feel really isolated and just having someone there has been really beneficial for them."
She said she has found the work to be "extremely rewarding" as she was ale to help people in her area – as well as help herself to overcome the difficulties of the virus.
"There's research that suggests if you help others you help yourself and that's a bit of how I've coped myself," she said. "It's a passion of mine to help others – I've been in the mental health services as as soon as I turned 17-and-a-half."
