Ex Girlguiding leader at it again at Samaritans

[Camera17]

she’s known to us all here. She wrecked GG and went over to Samaritans.
shes now leading a change programme there and despite resources being stretched (the reason for the review and change), she’s found the opportunity to ensure the unpaid volunteers focus in future on that ‘special’ group of males. She won’t give any figures or evidence why this group need extra outreach.
Samaritans is the definition of open to all. ‘No judgment’ is part of their DNA. And yet our friend wants to spend time and money on this group with no evidence.

I was a Samaritans volunteer 20+ years ago. I gave it up as work commitments made it difficult to stick to a fairly rigid rota system. But even then there was an unhealthy assumption that we [and I mean female volunteers] would indulge some overtly sexual discussions that looking back were a form of validation for certain groups of men.
I have more time now being retired but the Samaritans is not a charity I would contribute to these days.

What is wrong with these women?

Something must happen to certain women when they get a whiff of power and their latent man pandering goes full throttle. Is it what helped them achieve their success?

I’m thinking Maria Miller, Theresa May (there was something off about her even before I realised what hell she had wreaked in her short term), obviously Sturgeon and her gang, some of the woman hating Baronesses in the House of Lords.

I’m fascinated to know what happens to make these women have such a drastic empathy bypass regarding women but have endless indulgence for damaged men. Do they perceive us as weak and want to prove they are not? Do they have a saviour complex? I’d love a psychologist to study their motivations.

Also a previous Samaritan, cross-dressing was one of the more common themes shared by the sort of men who liked to masturbate over the phone at us

I’m probably gormless about this but isn’t the rate of suicide amongst men 25-40 the highest of any group. In which case that group would need more money addressed to their needs, if that is what Samaritans do other than answering distress calls.

I used to have work meetings with Teresa May - this was back in the 90s before she became an MP. We were both in banking, she was older than me. I really liked her (!) but she was of an era where women in seniir positions was rare and I think a lot of the really successful women back then aligned themselves with men and supported male demands, because mem were the ones they were trying to emulate and compete with. Women, well they had nothing in common with the other women they encountered, who were mostly much lower graded.

Ooh that’s an interesting insight. I really want to have female politicians we can look up to and trust not to throw women under the bus. Maybe she started out as a decent person and lost it on her journey to power?

With so many male politicians that prioritise men, we need the few female politicians we have to champion women.

This is why the male oppression fantasy apparently held by men who call themselves women will never work. They will never be oppressed like women.

Do you have a source for this please?

Completed suicides, not attempts.

I don't think that is what the op is alluding to though.

The volunteers are not interested in what the person identifies as. They want to help save a life.
The CEO is changing loads because apparently money is tight ( even proposing working from home!)
But not tight enough to find resources do a special reach out to the trans community without supporting evidence

She's also best mates with Simon Blake, Stonewall CEO.

As a current Sams volunteer, I don’t recognise your comments about special outreach to the trans community. Where are you getting this information from? I think you’re either misinformed or you‘ve got an axe to grind against Samaritans.

The Brenda line is long defunct and current volunteers are trained to bring any calls were callers are misusing the service (eg masturbating, using explicit sexual language) to a swift close. Please stop spreading misinformation about a charity that does valuable work in suicide prevention.

(Edited for typo)

ONS and suicide by sex and age

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7749/

Aren't they closing offices and having volunteers take calls from home? Female volunteers have voiced concerns about having calls of a sexual nature coming into their homes https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2l23ylv46o.amp

Please note, I acknowledged my experience in the Sams was a long time ago and also that The Brenda line was many years before that.

Thank you to some of you who have posted here. My late mother was a volunteer in early retirement, but retired suddenly in unexplained circumstances. I always thought she might have been threatened, but this sheds new light on it potentially. Thank you. x

They are considering some changes and currently consulting with volunteers. Nothing definite has been decided yet, and any changes are going to happen in the medium to long term (7 to 10 years). Some smaller branches may close. There are no plans to move to home working for most volunteers - I believe the thinking is to move to a smaller number of better-equipped branches. A few people may try working from home as part of a pilot, but it won’t be imposed on anyone. A lot of us enjoy the cameraderie of working together in branches and wouldn‘t want to take calls in our homes.

As usual, the media have got hold of this and come up with a few click-bait headlines. All organisations, including charities, have to review how they work and move with the times. The basic Samaritans values of non-judgemental support and human contact aren‘t going to change.

I absolutely don’t have an axe to grind - other than a concern about significant decisions being made in a critical service without evidence, by a woman who left a trail of mess in her wake at GG. I am a married to a Sams volunteer. The recent webinars have laid all this out including the priority groups for outreach ( no evidence given as to the need)

I’ve read a few press articles, so it’s interesting to hear about the proposed changes from a current volunteer. I was a volunteer for about 10 years - left for a number of reasons, but misuse of the service by some very manipulative repeat callers was very frustrating especially during long night shifts.

The home working proposal is a surprise - it was a rule when I volunteered that there had to be another volunteer on duty to offer emotional support if a volunteer had a distressing call. Face to face contacts and outreach were seen as very important when I was there - high risk though - and I wondered how this will work if there are fewer branches.
I got involved in a national project at one point and got a real sense that Head Office found the branch network frustrating - too many of them “making up their own rules” I was told.
The amount of hours and goodwill that volunteers give is phenomenal and includes all the training and fundraising so it’s good to hear about the consultation process.
I do think the organisation does great work, and I still donate, but don’t think I will rejoin .

@Couchpotato3 I am pleased to hear that things have improved.