Support Line Responder — Pancreatic Cancer Helpline

The Heather Cutler Foundation is a registered Canadian charity based in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, dedicated to pancreatic cancer awareness, patient support, and advocacy in Atlantic Canada. This summer, we are launching the HCF Pancreatic Cancer Support Hotline — the first service of its kind in NL — and we are recruiting our founding cohort of trained volunteer responders.

About the role

As a Support Line Responder, you will take calls from pancreatic cancer patients, caregivers, and family members across Newfoundland and Labrador. You will listen, provide plain-language information, help callers navigate available resources, and connect them to the supports they need — all within a clearly defined scope. This is not a clinical role. You will not provide medical advice. What you will provide is a knowledgeable, compassionate, and steady presence at a moment when most people feel completely overwhelmed.

Responsibilities

• Answer calls and voicemails during your scheduled coverage window
• Complete a warm intake and create a case record for each caller
• Provide information on pancreatic cancer, treatments, clinical trials, financial supports, legal planning, and community resources in plain language
• Send approved resource packages to callers by email following each call
• Document calls accurately and escalate to a supervisor when required
• Attend monthly virtual check-ins and debrief sessions

Qualifications

No medical or clinical background is required — only a commitment to showing up consistently for people in one of the hardest seasons of their lives. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We are especially interested in hearing from individuals with experience or training in social work, counselling, nursing, healthcare navigation, crisis lines, or peer support, as well as students in health sciences, social work, psychology, or related fields. People with lived experience of pancreatic cancer — as a patient, caregiver, or family member — are warmly encouraged to apply.

Training

Every volunteer completes a comprehensive 38-hour training program before their first live call, covering pancreatic cancer education, call flow and documentation, privacy and PIPEDA compliance, empathy and active listening, financial supports, legal documents, caregiver burden, clinical trials, and genetic testing. A certificate of completion is issued upon passing the final assessment. Annual recertification is required.

Please note: one session — Trauma-Informed Care — is delivered in person by NLHS and attendance is mandatory. All other training is fully remote.

Time commitment

Volunteers should expect approximately 38 hours of training in late June or July 2026, one mandatory in-person session in Newfoundland and Labrador (date and location to be confirmed), and regular scheduled call coverage shifts following launch. Monthly virtual check-ins are also required.

What we offer

Volunteers receive a certificate of completion, verified volunteer hours for professional development or academic portfolios, meaningful founding cohort status, and ongoing supervision and debrief support from the HCF team.

Important: Volunteers must be based in Newfoundland and Labrador or able to travel to NL for the mandatory in-person training session.