Our vision is that fewer people die by suicide, and our mission is to be there for everyone when they need us, whatever they are facing.

Mid Cheshire Samaritans are based in Northwich, and we cover Altrincham, Hale, Hale Barns, Knutsford, Lymm, Middlewich, Northwich, Timperley and Winsford.

In 2022 there wasn’t a single second when Samaritans weren’t on the phone to someone, so I think you can see the need to recruit more people. My director asked me if I would write something from the perspective of a relatively new Listening Volunteer, to really bring to life what it's like to be a volunteer and how we help people.

Who are Samaritans, and what do we do?

Samaritans is a charity that provides emotional support to anyone who is in distress and needs to talk to someone. We don’t give advice — we just listen and give them time. I’m a Listening Volunteer so I answer phone calls that come from our national helpline number or answer emails. Our branch answers over 18,000 calls a year and 2,500 emails, and soon we will have web chat too.

Do you need prior experience to be a listening volunteer?

Not at all. I’d say that you do need certain qualities like patience, having an open mind and being non-judgemental but the training process teaches you everything that you need to know. I felt supported all along and its better than any work-based training I’ve ever had!

Firstly, there is formal training which is a mixture of online and face-to-face in the branch. Then you work with a mentor and listen to them take calls before you take calls yourself, with them listening in to support and guide you. When you are ready you can take calls by yourself and then eventually you ‘graduate’ to be a fully-fledged Listening Volunteer. That’s a big moment! It can seem like a long time to get there, but I am so glad that the training is so thorough, you never know what the next call will bring.

How much time do you have to commit as a volunteer?

You have to complete all of the initial training sessions which are spaced out over a few weeks and then your volunteering takes up about three hours a week. There is a lot of flexibility on what hours you volunteer for — there are shifts available at different times of day or night on all seven days of the week. I work full time so generally do one shift a week but some people with more free time like to do more.

What’s a typical call?

It’s a myth that every call we take is from someone who is suicidal, in fact, we wish more people talked to us earlier to avoid getting to the stage where they can’t cope. Mostly it’s about the everyday problems like loneliness, worries about money, health, work, relationships, all kinds of things. They have one thing in common though, and that is the caller needs someone to listen to them, to give them time while they talk about what’s on their mind, and how they are feeling.

How do you feel listening to people’s problems?

At the end of a shift I feel quite uplifted and it puts me in a good mood knowing that I’ve been there for people who needed someone to talk to. We have a very strong support network in the branch, with a leader available to answer queries as well as being there to talk to us at the end of the shift to ensure we are ok. As volunteers, we also talk to each other as we never work alone and, if you do take a difficult call, there is further support available. We ensure we look after each other as well as our callers.

I can honestly say that it is one the best decisions I have ever made and would encourage anyone to seriously think about it.