You help us be there round the clock
Your Spring 2017 newsletter Free helpline
P11 1st anniversary
P12 Running aroun
the clock
d
Contents Out with the blue and in with Brew Monday
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A journey of a lifetime
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017 April 2
25 years behind bars... 6 Dying from inequality 9 From the bottom up: Local actions save lives 10 Free helpline anniversary
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Around the clock in 498 days! 12 You must be in it to win it! 14 Samaritans Lottery
Suicide: An unequal
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risk p9
If you’d like to share your story to encourage others to talk and help increase awareness of Samaritans work, or you’d like to give us some feedback on our Spring Newsletter please get in touch.
03709 00 00 32
supportercare@samaritans.org
ey p4
A £5,000 raffle windfall! p14
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Background Illustration © shutterstock: zabavina
A 57 year journ
Brew up at Kings Cross, London
Out with the blue and in with Brew Monday
M
any of us feel at a low ebb over the dark winter months. And, no more so than the third Monday in January – often dubbed ‘the gloomiest day in the year’. Can we blame the chilly temperatures, a lack of sunlight, post-Christmas debt, failed resolutions or perhaps a combination of all four? This year, Samaritans decided to tackle ‘Blue Monday’ and rename it Brew Monday instead. And, of course, we encouraged people to enjoy a cuppa and a chat with a friend or colleague. Lynsey Pollard, our Head of Media, said “People struggling alone with difficult thoughts often tell us they wish someone would notice what they are going through but they don’t know how to explain or reach out for support.”
We also teamed up with our partner Network Rail to give out specially produced teabags to reward commuters, across the UK, for venturing out from under their duvets. We hope you spotted the coverage on Facebook and Twitter as well as national and local media, and www.samaritans.org/ brewmonday Next time you’re experiencing Monday blues, try turning the day into a Brew Monday in the company of a friend.
“ . .make Brew Monday a day when we all
have that little bit of extra courage, to talk and to take time to listen to people we care about. ”Animator, Edward Monkton Spring 2017
3
A journey of a lifetime Y
ou may have spotted not just one but three Samaritans volunteers recognised in this year’s honours list.
Alan Woodhouse MBE is one of them and, after 57 years, is our longest-serving Samaritans volunteer. As one of the founders of our Liverpool and Merseyside branch, it’s difficult to imagine the changes Alan has seen since 1960. Here, Alan describes his Samaritans’ journey as a very special experience, spanning an incredible six decades. In the beginning, I didn’t really volunteer in our present sense of the word. The Rector of Liverpool at the time, had discussed the idea of setting up a Samaritans’ ‘branch’ in the city.
“
The impetus was the sudden death of the previous, much loved, rector. I was young, had time and energy, and wanted to be involved in a project that – we hoped – would be beneficial to the local community. We had no idea what we were taking on. There was no guidance, little publicity and no notion of what to expect when we picked up the phone. But despite the uncertainties, I don’t recall feeling any fear or regret. The start was very slow as Samaritans was an unknown quantity. Then, we were a night service from, if I recall, 8pm until 8am.
1960
We never overslept in the morning because at 6.30am, the Liverpool buses started to rumble past our floor level windows on their way into the city. For the first six months, you had to be dedicated to spend a night where the phone rang maybe twice if you were lucky. Often the morning log book bore the acknowledgement ‘No calls tonight’. The busy years that I recall were in the ‘80’s. Some nights were so busy that we had four telephones staffed, ringing throughout the shifts. As I recall, one year we topped 30,000 contacts – including Nightline calls. It’s especially intriguing to be working with our newer volunteers. We always learn new things from the experience; sometimes we feel the old ways are better!
Alan Woodhouse MBE
“ The old log book for 1962
is stil with us: it records 127 named callers over a year. ”
There is always, on a duty, something you come away with, feeling ‘Yes: that’s what I was there for today.’ It may involve a particular caller; it may be a volunteer who needs to talk about their own difficulties. And you were that trusted person. So, once again, it is a Samaritans sense of having been of some comfort to other human beings.
Become a listening volu ntee
r
If you’d like to find out more about our trai ning and what becoming a Sa maritans liste ning volunteer mea ns get in touch volunteering@ samaritans.o rg 03705 62 72 (UK) 82 1890 200 091 (Republic of Ireland)
”
2020 q
25 years behind bars… W
e’ve come a long way since 1991. Today, almost all prisons across the UK and the Republic of Ireland now have a Listener scheme in place. Kathy Baker, the Listeners’ founder and former vice chair of Samaritans, explains how it all began. The first Samaritans’ Listener scheme was set up in the wake of the suicide of 15-year old Philip Knight, at HMP Swansea in July 1990. His tragic death impacted heavily on staff as well as family.
“
The Governor of Swansea prison, at that time, rang the local Samaritans branch for support. This led to establishing a peer to peer Listening scheme to help protect vulnerable prisoners. The benefits of peer to peer support, for safeguarding prisoners at risk of self-harm, had long been recognised. For this reason, the new scheme was supported by prisoners themselves and operated within the prison service. Local Samaritans’ branch volunteers also work in partnership with the prisons to train and support the prisoners responsible for listening to peers who need to open-up to someone they can trust. 6
”
“ The Listener
scheme is one of the most profound advances in the Service in which I have worked for 23 years. ”
CEO of the National Offender Management Service
24/7 We're here round the clock
Fast forward 25 years… Today Listener schemes are operating in 141 prisons and there are over 1,800 active listeners*. Not only does the scheme help to reduce suicide in prisons, it also gives the trained listeners skills that help them to succeed on the outside – once their sentence is over. Each scheme is dependent on the selection of interested prisoners who can take on the responsibility of listening, unconditionally, to fellow in-mates’ emotional and practical problems and maintain complete confidentiality. The scheme works because prisons also commit to honouring the confidentiality of peer to peer listening. Despite the higher risk of suicide in prisons compared to life outside, the Listener scheme plays a vital role in reducing levels of self-harm and helping to replace hopelessness with hope.
“ The scheme
empowers prisoners to do something good in a place they have been sent to for doing something bad… Now that is a great gift. ”
Samaritans Listener
* Listener Scheme Facts and Figures for 2015
People in prisons are 5 to 10 times more likely to
take their own life than members of the general public. Source: Samaritans’ estimate based on 100 per 100,000 compared to either the male only UK rate or the overall UK suicide rate in 2014; 95% of the prison population are male in England and Wales (Ministry of Justice, 2016; ONS, 2016).
Spring 2017
7
“Prison de-structures you…
you lose your sense of identity.”
If you tune into the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire Show, you may have caught her interview with ex-inmates, Mick Horn and Michael Irwin, back in January. Meeting through a listening experience they developed a bond that has lasted beyond their term inside. Their paths crossed for the first time shortly after Michael received his sentence. He was sitting on the landing with his head in his hands. Mick – a Samaritans trained Listener – approached him saying “are you ok big fellow?” “Well no, I’m not actually” came his reply. They went for a cup of tea and things moved on from there. During the show, Michael spoke about how he’d felt like ending his life on occasions.
“This feeling of hopelessness comes
Mick Horn at the BB
C
Mick followed up the story. “Going to prison isn’t like it looks on the telly. How you deal with life is totally different and you’re not really taught this… Prison officers don’t have the time for individual prisoners. I just talked to Michael, cracked a few jokes to break the ice and helped him to adjust.”
Michael continued, “Prison de-structures across to you, you have so many you, your identity as a person, your identity as a man. I didn’t know how to deal with different factors to deal with in myself and Mick helped me to do that. We started a writing course and worked on prison, the pressures are really, prison radio together. When I was moved back to Ireland I became a Listener myself, really high. My father wasn’t very so I could pass on the knowledge and well and I was in trouble with some experiences Mick had taught me.” officers on the wing. You lose hope, “ Thanks mate. You turned my life as if there’s no way out ”. around. Its’ real and its’ special ”.
8
24/7 We're here round the clock
Dying from inequality M
en in the lowest social class, living in the most deprived areas, are up to ten times more at risk of suicide than those in the highest social class, living in the most affluent areas.
Until now, an inequalities lens hadn’t focussed on suicide prevention policy and practice. It’s also been unclear what needs to be done to address the inequalities in suicide risk. Samaritans commissioned eight experts to tackle the question ‘what is the relationship between socioeconomic disadvantage and suicidal behaviour?’
The experts’ findings, shared in our report 'Dying from inequality', are far reaching and highlight areas of risk to communities and individuals. Specific risks include the closure and downsizing of businesses, unemployment, poor housing, poor access to and quality of services and unmanageable debt. The evidence strengthens Samaritans’ call on governments, businesses, industry and sector leaders to be aware of the risks of suicide. And to provide resources to those experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. We recognise that governments, public services, employers, service providers, communities, family and friends all have a role in making sure help and support are relevant and accessible when it matters the most.
“ Suicide is an inequality issue which
we have known about for some time… its’ not right, its’ not fair and its’ got to change. ” Ruth Sutherland, Samaritans CEO
Samaritans has already started this process by making their service free to all, and campaigning for local authorities to have effective suicide prevention plans in place such as Local Actions Saves Lives (see page 10).
S
amaritans’ first ever campaign aimed at politicians, Local Action Saves Lives, is going from strength to strength.
This is part of Samaritans’ work to hold local government to account on the progress they’ve made on tackling suicide across the country. We’re asking everybody to email their local politicians to make sure they’re doing everything they can to prevent suicide in their area. All you need to do
e h t m o Fr p u m o t bot
is fill in a quick form on our website – it takes 30 seconds. Lots of councils have already started doing more on suicide prevention because they’ve been contacted by Samaritans' supporters. Make sure yours is doing all it can! Local Action Save Lives is running in England, Wales and Scotland, so visit
samaritans.org/action
to find out how you can campaign in your local area.
Local a ctions save li ves
24/7 We're here round the clock
Samaritans’ free helpline... helping to bridge the inequality gap
S
eptember 2016 marked the first anniversary of Samaritans’ free helpline. Understanding that cost can be a barrier to reaching people living in the most deprived areas, our free number helps to give anyone in need the opportunity to call Samaritans, irrespective of their income.
The new helpline was introduced, thanks to the Big Lottery Fund, Vodafone and the co-operation of major telecommunications companies, as well as our dedicated supporters. Throughout 2016, we answered over 400,000 calls on average each month. That’s 38,000 calls more than the year prior to our free helpline.*
116 123 11% calls
more ed answer
Our free number is likely to have enabled more individuals living in deprived areas, to seek the help they need and talk to a Samaritans’ listening volunteer.
FREE
If you turn to page 9 you’ll read about the latest expert findings in our new report ‘Dying from inequality’ that shows people who are less well-off are at a higher risk of suicide. Our free helpline is therefore an important step for us as it helps to bridge the inequality gap. Since the launch of Samaritans’ free helpline we’re answering 11% more calls.*
If things are getting to you
116 123
* Samaritans’ helpline statistics 2015-2016.
Spring 2017
11
Around the clock in 498 days! P
eople have set themselves extraordinary challenges for charity, but none more so than Samaritans’ volunteer Nicola Gee.
To raise awareness of our round-the-clock helpline, Nicola is aiming to complete 24 running events (including 3 marathons) within 18 months and raise a massive £4,000. Nicola shared her motivations and how she’s managing to keep herself going!
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24/7 We're here round the clock
“
Whilst at university I experienced depression. I went from a confident outgoing person to someone who felt full of doubt and spent hours alone in my room. In my third year, I finally contacted Samaritans via text and their response was instant. They helped me to understand how I was feeling and put together a support plan that I could turn to when my mood was low.
When Samaritans asked me what I enjoy doing and how much time I had, I think I said running. They encouraged me to carry on. And the more I ran, the stronger I felt mentally and emotionally. I soon came to realise that I was in control of helping myself and I didn’t always have to rely on medication.
The experience made me feel that I wanted to give something back. This is why, in addition to putting my running shoes on, I volunteer at my local branch in Reading. And I get to meet people, like me, who have the time and energy to work towards something they really believe in. In future, and when I’m ready, I’d like to be a listening volunteer but not before I’ve run the 24th running event, aptly named ‘Endure 24’ on 10 and 11 June 2017.
“ I had to run
up some of the biggest hil s I’ve ever seen! I was overtaken by two runners dressed as a camel too. ”
Nicola talking about the Goring 10k, February 2017
I've now raised £3,165, so only £835 short of my target. If you'd like to support me please visit my JustGiving page.
”
justgiving.com/fundraising/ Samaritans-24
#TEAMSAMARITANS Samaritans has places available in sporting events across the UK. If you’re keen to set yourself a challenge – modest or ambitious – join #TeamSamaritans. samaritans.org/events
events@samaritans.org
You must be in it to win it!
W
e recently caught up with Jerry, a Samaritans listening volunteer, to ask how it feels to win our £5,000 Christmas Raffle!
“
When I received a call from Samaritans Central Office, I thought I’d made a gross error on a recent listening call. I asked if there had been a problem. When the person, Rachael, said that I’d won first prize in the Christmas Raffle I felt completely flabbergasted!
“ I had no idea what the prize money
was worth, I thought perhaps £50, a John Lewis voucher or a hamper. So when I heard it was a cheque for £5,000, I thought it was amazing as I’ve just become a Samaritan myself. ”
My wife Sherry and I had been planning to buy a new television, so the prize money has enabled us to get one. Sherry is a crafter so I also bought her an overlocker as her old one had – yet again – broken down.
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Lottery winne
r Jerry with hi
s wife Sherry
We’ve also helped our son and daughter, who has just had a baby boy and our second grandchild, too. We plan to spend the rest on a holiday somewhere warm – memories are important to us as a family. Samaritans is a charity about supporting people, by working with people. No man is an island – no one knows when or if any of us may need someone at some point, in our lives, just to listen to us without judgement and in a confidential setting. Samaritans is truly wonderful – it’s a charity that touches people in different ways.
”
Jerry Bettington, Samaritans volunteer
ssive
ma Up to a
0 £25,b0e0won
could week. every
Samaritans Lottery offers you the chance of a £25,000 windfall! It’s a win, win… By playing the Samaritans Lottery today, not only will you be in with a chance of winning the jackpot, you’ll help to give someone else a chance to turn their life around too. Every time you play for just £1, Samaritans receives 50p towards its potentially life-saving services – everyone’s a winner! Visit
samaritans.org/play to join today.
The draw takes place every Saturday Contact our lottery hotline if you’d like to ask any questions: 0370 050 9240
Please gamble responsibly. Terms and conditions apply, visit
unitylottery.co.uk for full details.
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