what sort of person works for the Samaritans?

[hazelnutfriday]

What do you think if you hear that someone works for the Samaritans? Do you think it is a strange thing to do? Do you think they are likely to be smug, or middle class, or middle aged? I am thinking of applying. I think the work sounds interesting. But I am not sure what sort of people I would be working with, or what it says about me that I am drawn to this.

I was a volunteer for 8 years and only stopped when I had my son as the time commitment wasn't feasible anymore.

The people I met were incredibly varied - all ages from 20 to 80, all very kind and generous - some of the best chats I've ever had were with fellow volunteers on a quiet night shift waiting for the phone to ring.

The training is amazing and the service Samaritans offer is amazing too. I only ever met unpaid volunteers - back then there were very very few people who "worked" there and were paid.

I remember only a handful of calls I took in all those years and I am very moved still by those memories. Being with someone at their lowest moments is tough but deeply rewarding in a strange way. I would absolutely love to return and will do when I retire I hope.

Samaritans volunteers are awesome.

10 years ago I completed Samaritans training and went on to be a listening volunteer. Hanging up on callers who were abusing the service was definitely allowed.

Samaritans are all kinds of people. You have to pass selection and training to become a volunteer. Some people realise it's not for them when they find out more about what is involved - that's OK too. Some people volunteer but not taking calls as branches need help with admin, finance, IT, fundraising etc. It is a privilege to be a Sam.

My wonderfully sensitive, gentle and compassionate Dad volunteered in his early retirement. His aim was to give his time to help others, as he had through his career before that. He certainly wasn't thinking about what others thought of him. He decided not to tell anyone outside of the family as he didn't want anyone to be put off calling in case they got someone they knew. He kept it completely to himself.

The people who man the phone are volunteers. I know a few personally, they are different levels of niceness - none of them are perfect, obviously, but they're all good listeners.

yes you do hang up if you get a sex caller or an abusive caller, that is the correct procedure and the Samaritan policy- it was one of the things I have looked into, having heard this misinformation on Mumsnet in the past

I fully accept I could be wrong. It’s just what I recall from the training but it was long ago and willing to admit could well be misremembered.

That was lovely to read. Good man.

I volunteered for about 3 years. I was training to be a therapist and thought it would be a relevant experience. It was mainly retired middle class people tbh. I guess people with time on their hands who wanted to give back.

It's ok, I did it about 15 years ago so although we did emails the majority of contacts were telephone that may have shifted.

Most of telephone calls are hang ups. A large percentage were sex pests, some lonely people, and then some depressed/suicidal people. In the 3 years I was there I only dealt with a suicide in progress once. But that's quite tough.

How obnoxious do you sound, are they smug or middle class or middle aged.

Im not sure if it is the role for you at all

Back in the day Samaritans were told they must never end the call first. If someone was talking dirty to them or whatever then the Samaritan simply had to keep on talking but not put the phone down.

And yes it was abusive and yes it only generally affected female Samaritans and yes it put an awful lot of women, myself included, off ever volunteering for them.

But this isn't the case now. So why do people keep on about it? It was 50 years ago!

You only have to do one 'hours of need' (eg night) shift per month. 3/4 hours.

It might not be now (and I hope not), but that was the policy 10 years ago when I volunteered, so not 50 years ago…

That certainly wasn't national guidance at the time, @Hsew.

I found an article from 1997 about wanking calls, and it says: 'Samaritans always err on the side of caution with a caller and therefore listen long enough to establish properly what the call is about", Samaritans can now end a call if they feel it is genuinely abusive.'

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-sex-calls-that-drive-the-samaritans-to-despair-1297139.html

1997 - 27 years ago!!

@Hsew agreed, I was volunteering then and absolutely was trained to only listen long enough to establish a caller was definitely not genuine,especially because sometimes you do get calls from sex offenders or those with harmful urges who are suicidal because of it and sometimes things can initially sound dodge that actually aren't. You need to listen long enough to ascertain if someone is genuine or using the call to get their kicks or just relive something. If they aren't genuine you give them warning that you won't be drawn into that and will end the call, if they continue then you tell them you're ending the call and they can call back if they need genuine assistance from the service. Then end call.

It sounds like whoever has done your training has misinterpreted something because that's definitely not accepted, plus it ties up the lines/volunteers making it harder for genuine callers or walk ins to get through when they need help. I've never known anyone to feel obligated to sit and listen endlessly. There's a duty of care to volunteers as well.

Thank you, he was wonderful. Miss him dreadfully but he certainly made a difference in his lifetime.