Organisational Overview

Organisational Structure

NiteLine has almost 100 call-taking volunteers, all of whom are third-level students or recent graduates.
Each year, this volunteer base elects the committee which will run the organisation, with support from counsellors and other key staff members in our affiliated colleges.
The committee consists of five departments: Training, Publicity, Finance & Sponsorship, Research & Development and Volunteer Welfare.
This committee is chaired by the Coordinator, who is also a student or recent graduate elected to the role by the volunteers.
There is a designated Publicity Officer for each affiliated college to manage relations and coordinate advertisement for that college.
The committee presents on NiteLine’s operations, developments, needs and upcoming plans to stakeholders from each affiliated college bi-annually.

NiteLine Dublin’s stakeholders are its volunteers, as well as the students, Student Services department, and Students’ Unions of its affiliated colleges.
NiteLine Dublin derives its funding from its affiliated colleges: Dublin Business School, Dublin City University, Maynooth University, National College of Art and Design, Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Institute of Art Design + Technology, Trinity College Dublin, Technological University Dublin and University College Dublin.

Niteline’s most recent Annual Report can be viewed here

Our 24-hour initial training program covers key topics such as active listening, signposting to other services, self-care and dealing issues such as suicide, self-harm and sexual violence.
Initial training was developed in collaboration with volunteers themselves, college counselling services and external organisations such as Samaritans Ireland.
Trainees practise calls with each other and with senior volunteers throughout the training.
At the end of their training, trainees are tested on a number of key skills across both phone and instant messaging.
Volunteers receive ongoing training from the training team and external organisations throughout their time with NiteLine.

Our bi-weekly Support Meetings are facilitated by a counsellor from one of our affiliated colleges, and provide an opportunity to reflect on difficult calls and learn from one another. Volunteers must attend at least one Support Meeting per month.
NiteLine volunteers never work alone. They are trained to debrief each other after calls and at the end of each shift without breaching a caller’s confidentiality.
NiteLine has a dedicated Support Officer who checks in with any volunteers who have taken a difficult call.
Our affiliated counsellors provide counselling to any volunteers who have taken a difficult call and would like additional support.