Lend An Ear Or Let Out Your Woes (Samaritans)

Member Name: GramiWay

Product:	Samaritans
Date:	13/08/08 (131 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great friendly, impartial service, call any time of the day, various contact methods

Disadvantages: None really?

My review is designed to basically give you information about both sides of the fence. Calling the Samaritans as a friend of mine once did, or in my case, learning about becoming a Samaritan.
Well having always known of the Samaritans, I was a bit clueless as to what the organisation actually did and the such.
That was a few years ago and now I can happily say that I am getting involved in the organisation from the inside and am about to undergo training.
Set up by a vicar living in London in the early 1950s he decided to create a drop in service or either face to face by phone for people suffering from various problems in their everyday lives after he had carried out the funeral of a 15 year old girl who had taken her life through fear she had contracted an STD when in reality she had started her period.

The organisation has grown considerably since then and there is a local branch in literally every major town in the UK. What is the most amazing thing about The Samaritans is that apart from a few admin people working behind the scenes, everybody involved with the service is doing it completly off their own back with the only reward being that of helping someone with difficulties.
Usually associated with people that are feeling suicidal for whatever reason, many different people from all walks of life call the Samaritans each year and the volunteers are trained brilliantly to deal with a variety of different circumstances from people who have been diagnosed with cancer, lost someone close or perhaps have a lot of financial difficulties and just need to reach out.

First of all in addition to being a Samaritan there are also various fund raising events and charity shops set up in the organisation's name which again rely solely on a large number of volunteers. Each branch operates from their own rented headquarters where they run training sessions and conduct calls. Despite the name the Samaritans are not a religious organisation and you won't have the volunteer's religious and political beliefs forced upon you if you decide to call, the organisation is only interested in providing a non judgemental and understanding service to people who are in need.

Basically there are three major ways to contact the Samaritans. You can do this by e-mail, letter or phone. If you choose to by the first two then obviously somebody will reply to you by that method but the most common form of communication is by the telephone. I must stress however that everything you say or tell an advisor is completly confidential. Each volunteer must write up a brief summary of the phone call after it's conclusion for the organisation's personal records but the information will never be leaked to any third parties and the Samaritans works on a very strict confidentiality policy.

The role of a Samaritan is not to offer advice on how to make everything better as that can open up many legal complications, but to solely just listen to a person who is in distress and show empathy to their situation and be somebody to talk to in their hour of need. A lot of lonely and isolated people tend to call the Samaritans but people right at the other end of the scale do so as well as sometimes it's much better to speak to somebody who doesn't know you. The calls are usually free or charged at a local rate depending on the contract you have with your phone provider if you reach your local branch though if you are unable to afford the call you can ask to be called back.

A very close friend of mine was having a hard time adjusting to the death of someone close to them and often felt like she was losing control and unable to open up emotionally and get on with her life. She told me that talking to the Samaritans really turned her life around as she could just call from the comfort of her own home any hour of the day and tell all of her problems to a stranger on the other line without fear of sounding stupid or being judged. She commented on the polite and calm tone in which the operator answered the phone and spoke to her throughout their conversation just listening and asking her about her various feelings and just generally just letting her vent out her pain. and the fact that a few weeks down the line she was contacted again to find out how she was getting on.

Obviously getting involved in the Samaritans requires you to be able to put yourself in the position of listening to other people's problems without getting too emotionally overloaded yourself. The recruitment process is fairly easy. For myself I applied via the website www.samaritans.org [which has loads of brilliant information anyway] and received an application pack a few days later. The questions were a bit tricky but not that difficult to be honest as you just have to honestly explain why you wish to volunteer for them and give a few personal details [nothing too heavy]. You must also submit the names of two people unrelated to you who can give you a reference.

You are then invited to a short informal meeting. I was made very welcome and offered a drink and it wasn't nerve wracking at all. The volunteers explained how the organisation worked and now I will attend a selection day in September before the training course which lasts about six weeks mainly taking place in the evenings and at weekends. I was told the support for new volunteers was exceptional and that you will never be left on your own to answer a call meaning you will always have support. You can volunteer as little or as much as you want - any time of the day from early morning to right through the night and calls can be directed to you from all over the country not just your home town.

The Samaritans is not only a brilliant resource for people in distress but can also be just as beneficial and helpful to you if you choose to be come a volunteer. If you're hoping to become a counsellor or something in the Health and Social Care field then this is a great organisation to get involved though even if not the feeling of doing something to help others should be rewarding enough. Even if it seems like so little it can make a huge difference to somebody on the other end of a phone who the need to talk could be a matter of life and death for them.

I really hope I've managed to cover as much as I can with this review and not waffled off on a complete tangent. I apologise if so, bu there was a lot of information to get in here but hopefully this will provide a quick overview as to the services you can expect from both sides of this brilliant organisation.


Just in case this has clicked with anyone:

www.samaritans.org

All contact information is easily available from the site's home page.

Summary: A very worth while organisation in your time of need or to become a part of