Samaritans setting out to recruit and raise awareness in Lisburn

Leading the charge is Ken Bamford, recently installed chairman of the Belfast branch, which takes in the Lisburn area.

“We receive no money directly from government,” he said. “All our funding is by way of public donations.”

According to Ken it takes some £60,000 a year to run a branch, of which there are nine in Northern Ireland, and with volunteers naturally moving on for various reasons, the Samaritans are always recruiting.

“We need all the volunteers and all the funds we can get to develop and expand awareness,” he said.

Of the 200 or so volunteers currently on the books, some do hail from the Lisburn area, but the city is one in which the Samaritans hope to raise their profile, beginning with a planned Flag Day tomorrow (Saturday).

“Within the Lisburn area our presence hasn’t perhaps been as evident as it might be,” said Ken.

“The greater Lisburn area has had its problems with suicides and perhaps a little bit more awareness could help make a difference.”

The only Northern Ireland Samaritans branch operating on a 24-hour-a-day/seven-day-a-week basis (with doors open from 10am-10pm daily and phones manned day and night, 365 days a year), the Belfast branch records 26,000 dial-up contacts annually.

“During the course of the day in the UK 18 people will take their own lives,” said Ken. “The Samaritans get a call every six seconds.”

Ken was keen to point out that while the Samaritans were perhaps best known in terms of suicide prevention, by no means every caller was having suicidal thoughts.

“Some are lonely, despairing, distressed,” he said.

“I’ve been a volunteer for eight years and it never ceases to amaze me how many lonely people there are out there.

“Callers don’t necessarily want to end their life, but they want to end a situation; they just want to find someone to listen, someone they know they can talk to in confidence.”

The Samaritans are non-judgemental and every call is treated with total confidentiality.

“If a caller wants us to call an ambulance, we will,” said Ken.

“If they don’t, we won’t. Anything said down the line stays there and it stays within the Samaritans.”

The Samaritans can be contacted by phone, email, text, letter or face-to-face.

They additionally operate outreach services, by request, for schools and youth organisations, raising awareness of emotional health.

They attend major events and festivals, maintain a team for prisons and a drama team, presenting, by invitation, a play, entitled ‘This Was Your Life’, exploring the aftermath and the feelings of a family and group of friends as a result of suicide.

New volunteers are introduced by way of two intakes each year, each preceded by an information evening for potential recruits.

Having first been assessed for suitability, would-be volunteers then undergo an intensive training programme after which they are mentored for several months by a fully trained volunteer.

Volunteers must be aged over 18, but the oldest is currently more than 80 years of age.

“We have every type of person,” said Ken, “a cross-section of society, people who just want to quietly give something back, but all share a commitment to being there.

“It’s a substantial commitment, two or three duties a month with a requirement for up to three overnights a year.

“It’s not something to take on lightly.

“If you can’t fulfil a duty then you must find someone to swap it with.”

That said, all volunteers can be assured of support.

“Taking the first call can be a very traumatic experience, and everything must stay within the Samaritans, so there is constant support for volunteers and among volunteers,” said Ken.

Anyone interested in volunteering with the Samaritans, or making a donation, is asked to contact the Belfast branch by phone, on 028 9038 1133 or by email: [email protected].