They're just a phone call away

Everyone feels down from time to time and often a good chat with a close friend or relative can work wonders.

But if a friend is not available, or you need a little extra support, especially as Christmas approaches, help is at hand from complete strangers.

The Samaritans are about to celebrate their golden anniversary. For 50 years volunteers of all ages and backgrounds have been answering your calls and offering kind words of support.

The Swindon branch also has a milestone to celebrate next year the organisation will have been running in town for 35 years.

And the branch's success is down to the tireless work of the charity's 90 volunteers.

Samaritans operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in short, they are there for anybody, at any time.

Swindon branch director Barbara Kennedy joined the Samaritans seven years ago.

Barbara, who is in her 50s, said: "Like most people I had heard of Samaritans and knew that they listened on the phone to people who wanted to die by suicide.

"A friend was a Samaritan and said that although becoming one may seem daunting, the training and support were good and made it possible."

Barbara, who lives in Swindon, believes commitment, a willingness to learn and the ability to listen are vital traits in a good Samaritan.

"The amount of calls during a duty varies," she said. "No time limit is set for calls but we are aware that callers can become emotionally weary and we offer to call them back later or the next day.

"Calls can sometimes last only a few minutes, other times they can go on for an hour or more. Calls are as individual as the people who make them."

Barbara added that the volunteers were preparing for an increase of phone calls over the Christmas period.

She said: "It would be impossible to say how many more calls we take over Christmas but there is definitely a noticeable increase.

"It can be a difficult time of year for lots of people who have suffered a bereavement or a relationship break-up. Media images of happy families don't help.

"We receive most calls between 10pm and 2am when people may come home to an empty house. It is when we all lie awake with our worries and it can be a lonely time."

Paul Bentley, 44, of Stratton St Margaret, says he has not looked back since he became a Samaritan three years ago. "I was in the fortunate position in my life where things seemed sorted," he said.

"My work and home life was well balanced and I had some spare time on my hands. I wanted to do something for other people.

"It's a bit of a clich, but I wanted to put something back. A colleague and a good friend of mine, who is also a Samaritan, recognised that I had the ability to listen to other people.

"At that time I had no idea what the Samaritans was all about, but I soon became interested and haven't looked back."

Paul, a marketing manager at Zurich Financial Services, said the ongoing training given to new recruits prepares each volunteer for their new role.

He said: "The support system is so good that nothing I hear affects me to the extent that I take it home with me.

"The needs of the caller come first so I can't let anything I hear affect me as the caller could pick up on my reaction.

"It has been challenging becoming a Samaritan. You have to unlearn a lot of bad habits that you naturally acquire from childhood to adulthood.

"But one of the great things is the relationship you develop with your co-volunteers. It's quite unlike anything I've ever experienced.

Volunteers, who are aged from 20 to 70, spend four hours on duty, or 10 hours on an overnight shift.

Paul said: "These hours are spent with your co-volunteer and while you may never get to know anything about their non-Samaritan persona, you develop a bond which is really special.

"Those of us with busy lives tend to focus on our own priorities, problems and issues and even though we may care about others, it's often difficult to give someone else the time and space to be listened to.

"My wife Denise has been fully supportive of what I do."

aemery@newswilts.co.uk

18,000 calls are taken each year

Since the Swindon branch of the listening charity was launched 35 years ago, the number of calls has risen from 234 in its first year to more than 18,000 a year.

But in contrast, the number of volunteers prepared to listen to people's problems has fallen from 125 to 90.

Volunteers do not need to have previous experience or qualification but must have the ability to leave their own opinions at the door and resist giving callers advice.

People are given training over a six-week period and then enter a probation stage of about six months. Volunteers are subsequently given ongoing training.

People will need to be able to complete five shifts every six weeks. Four will be four-hour shifts, while another is a 10-hour overnight duty.

While the service operates all year round, fundraising efforts are also constantly taking place.

Ian Price, 46, a pensions management director at Zurich who joined the charity a year ago, said: "We are totally dependent on local support, not only from a volunteer's point of view but also to raise money in order to support the service that we provide."

It costs £100 a day to run the Samaritans to cover telephone bills and other overheads and this must be raised locally.

Ian, from Abbey Meads, said: "Without doubt, the Samaritans is a really worthwhile organisation and the service it provides to the community is key.

"But we constantly need to recruit more volunteers to ensure the service can continue."

It does not matter whether you are young, old, single or married anyone over the age of 18 can become a Samaritan.

Ian said: "My wife Nicole and daughters Leanne, 15, and Jessica, 11, are fully supportive of my work with the Samaritans and understand when I go off to do my shifts.

"But we are very strict with confidentiality and never repeat anything that goes on during the phone calls."

If you would like to become a volunteer call the Swindon Branch on 01793 537373. You can call Samaritans on 08457 909090 24 hours a day or send an email to jo@samaritans.org