A railway chaplain who provides a welcome listening ear to BTP officers and staff has won a national award for his work on the frontline.
Mike Roberts, who covers Liverpool, Manchester and North Wales won the Outstanding Personal Contribution (Frontline) Award at this year's National Rail Awards. Mike is one of a team of chaplains working for Railway Mission, the Christian faith-based charity that provides independent, confidential, impartial pastoral care to the railway community and members of the public affected by rail operations. A former parish priest, Mike's route into his current role was a happy accident, as he explained:
"I'd been a parish priest for 11 years and I'd had some time off ill," Mike said. "I'd had a replacement hip - which is what every bloke at 30 has done, isn't it? - but I met Rebecca, a vicar in the Church of England, and we got married. We had this conversation about how it would work, and we agreed that it pretty much wouldn't if we were both in churches, both doing the job; we'd never see each other.
"I said I would look for something different, but I never realised quite how different it was going to be. You know when a job description doesn't tell you much about the job... I applied and went down for the interview, and I was convinced it had been really absolutely dreadful, but then they rang to tell me I had been successful. I've been doing this job for four years and I can't imagine life doing anything else at the moment."
Railway Mission might be a Christian-based organisation, but it supports people of all faiths and none. Mike explained the work he and his colleagues do isn't about encouraging people to go to church; it's about supporting people in times of need.
Mike explained: "I think for us the idea of chaplaincy is that we are there as part of the wellbeing toolbox that officers have got. Every officer has got a range of tools they can reach out for at a time when they're struggling. Some of them will find the best support they've got will be someone at home, someone they live with. Some of them will be connected with their peers is really well. Others will know of their Fed Reps and some of the support that can come through there or the EAP. Quite often we're there for the people that fall through the gaps, the people that might not want to tag into some kind of formal support.
"I always use the illustration of an umbrella," Mike continued. "When officers are feeling worn down, exhausted, like a lot has been thrown at them, the chaplain comes along with an umbrella, sits down with them and allows that umbrella to provide shelter. And then after a while, you hand the umbrella to them. You stay with them, but you let them hold the umbrella and they're providing their own shelter. And then you can leave them; they've still got the umbrella but they're a bit stronger and can hold it above themselves. As time goes on, you see that things are better for them, they've still got the umbrella but now they're able to share it with somebody else.
The difference Mike makes has now been recognised nationally. The National Rail award he was presented with at last month's ceremony recognises railway personnel in any frontline role who have "performed above and beyond the call of duty, to significant effect".
"I was not expecting to win," Mike told us. "I've been married for five and a bit years and Rebecca says it's the first time she's seen me speechless. The awards were celebrating so many good people. All these faces came up, and I knew some of them; some of them are ridiculously good people. And then they did that bit where they announce the award without saying who it is by describing the person. Even if I hadn't won, I've been really encouraged by some of the words used about me.
"I don't do this for recognition or so people know who I am. I genuinely do because I think we make a difference. And standing in that room, with 1100 people standing up was really humbling, actually. And it's not just me, it's just maybe my mouth's a bit bigger and my Twitter account has a few more followers, but I've got 17 colleagues around the country, who are absolutely in the tough places."
Chaplains are often present at major incidents - Mike and his colleagues have provided support at everything from the Manchester Arena bombing to the Stonehaven derailment to the Commonwealth Games. But their role is about more than the large scale operations and high profile events.
"Some of the best conversations I've ever had are the day to day chats," Mike said. "For example, the police station in Lancaster is tiny, the cleaning cupboard in Manchester is bigger than the police station in Lancaster. And you just go in and sit and have a cup of coffee and sometimes there's just one PC on and you talk about nothing but it's wonderful to spend that time. Equally you go in on the really big days when there's really tough stuff happening. It's about being there through the ups and downs and the big days and little days of life."
"The officers I work with give so much to some of the most vulnerable people and actually, if I can provide a bit of support to them, then at the end of the day, they're better equipped to keep supporting people."
Find out more Railway Mission and identify your local rail chaplain at www.railwaymission.org/find-a-chaplain/. You can also follow Mike Roberts on social media. He is @birdsnestsblog on Twitter.