Cardiff Nightline is a student-led service that offers a phone and instant messaging service. We provide information and a listening service to all students from Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of South Wales, and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we are open 2 nights a week; see our home page for nights we’re open this week. Our phone lines are open 8pm-8am, and our IM Service is open between 8pm-12am.

We are a member of the Nightline Association, a charity that helps to support Nightlines throughout the UK.

The history of Nightline

The first Nightline was set up in 1970 at Essex University by a lecturer and a Chaplain who both noticed the high levels of stress and anxiety amongst the students. They trained a small group of students to provide emotional support over the phone, offering a listening ear to the day-to-day struggles of their fellow students. There are now thirty-three Nightlines across the UK and Ireland, with over two thousand student volunteers trained to deliver this confidential listening service.

Our principles

All Nightlines operate based upon 5 principles:

  • Confidentiality – What you tell us will stay between us and you unless in exceptional circumstances*
  • Anonymity – We will not ask for your name and when you hang up the phone, there will be no follow up to what you’ve told us.
  • Non-judgmental – There will be no assumptions or prejudice in any conversations.
  • Non-directional – We will not lead the conversation in any way, the call is about you.
  • Non-advisory – We are not trained to give advice, we are there to listen to you.

*Please note, the confidentiality aspect of calls can be broken if deemed necessary exceptional circumstances, such as threat to life.