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New volunteers expected to do all kinds of days and hours, and at least 3 hrs a week with at least 1 overnight shift every 3 months. This is incompatible with those who have children to care for and also work full time. Even those who don't have kids and work full time have difficulty managing this. This skews the listener volunteer demographic to mainly middle class retirees with cars, own homes, few financial worries, out of touch/can't relate with the current state of social services, government agencies and working class people problems. They do this for an ego boost, only work hours that are comfortable for them, leaving unsocial hours to new or a few very committed volunteers. Majority of callers are lonely older people who don't work and aren't close to their families for various reasons; lonely people who have difficulties socialising for various reasons; angry people shouting down the phone being belligerent/sarcastic about the volunteer's inability to solve their money/housing/job/relationship problems for them. Female volunteers get a lot of male sex pests calling up to masturbate to fantasies about sex involving rape and children. A lot of prisoners call as well and when they encounter female listeners, a large proportion of them want to talk about sex. Female volunteers are encouraged to "explore feelings" with these men because they must have been "traumatised" to act this way. Samaritans callers are now routed nationally across UK and Ireland so get a fair few callers with thick accents that are very challenging to make sense of, making it difficult to understand/converse/"help" them. Very rarely are there truly suicide calls, but many bored/lonely regular callers will claim to be suicidal to keep the volunteer on the line. Deteriorating NHS services mean that more callers with serious mental health issues are redirected to Samaritans whenever NHS mental services are closed/overwhelmed. Many callers are in the midst of a serious mental health crisis - upset/angry, psychotic, incoherent callers blaming the world for their ills, threatening to do something violent to whomever is living with them to "fix" their issues. Samaritans can do nothing unless caller gives address+name, which never happens as callers are often paranoid about police/doctors. The in-house training is 6 weeks of group classes using standardised teaching material from Samaritans HQ which teaches the "listening wheel" and the stepped approach to discussing suicide with callers. After group class training, training is then conducted 1:1 by so-called "mentors" - mostly old-timers in the branch who listen in on conversations new volunteers take, telling them what to say. Caller numbers are auto-logged by HQ. Any personal details given by callers are stored in HQ servers too. Zero consistency in how mentors teach because they were trained ages ago, answering phones in their own way. It's all very vague - basically if a trainee gells well with their mentor and don't question the flaws in the system, then he/she will be approved as a volunteer. There are branch politics/unspoken hierarchy/cliques - everyone keeps quiet about bullying/makes snide remarks - the only solution is for the person picked on to resign. Some volunteers seem to weirdly derive pleasure when sharing callers' sexual/relationship problems to other volunteers (and whomever).It's all very superficial. Samaritans are taught to never give advice; never disclose anything, i.e. never agree with the caller on any opinion/preference, even if they did. While old-timers get away with saying what they like, new Samaritans are chastised if conversations aren't focused only on caller's "feelings" - no "chatting" with callers about anything else - must allow more silences so "callers can talk more". All this can result in a cold, unempathic, unnatural conversation style. Few people who aren't trained counsellors can talk like this without sounding stunted and unemotional. Doesn't suit callers who aren't "talkers", and not effective either for callers in acute states of psychosis wanting to do something violent, which are all typical calls that Samaritans get. The Samaritans approach uses aspects of Carl Roger's Person-Centred therapy but can't build long term relationships with callers to help them improve/change their lives. The irony is they want unpaid volunteers. If they'll only hire and pay trained counsellors, the service quality could be improved.Campaign for a better NHS, social services, government, etc. that make a difference. Not this. This is a vain attempt to show donors they’re doing “something”. Every Conservative’s wet dream is to defund public services and direct everyone affected to the Samaritans.
I've tried 3 times to phone Samaritans within the last 10 minutes but each time their voice mail comes on saying, "I'm sorry but all our volunteers are on calls with other people. Please try again in a few moments!" Please take my call!!
I am deeply saddened by the cultural attitudes of the Samaritans here in Norwich, Norfolk, particularly in the retail section. I believe the individual in question has been with the Samaritans for many years, and while I expect this behavior has not been typical in the past, it was still disheartening.During my experience, I felt unwelcome, particularly due to the influence of the manager, David, on some of the other volunteers. However, I did encounter a lovely, strong, mature individual who extended a welcoming hand to me in the city center shop.David, the manager, appeared to obstruct my attempts to become a volunteer, but I refused to be discouraged by this. My overall experience left me feeling uncomfortable.It was evident that the manager was influencing some volunteers, who would only engage with me when absolutely necessary. In his significant position, he should be displaying maturity and acting in a non-judgmental way, certainly not engaging in age discrimination or showing personal dislike towards someone.I consider myself an outgoing, sociable, and well-rounded individual, so I found the overall mentality and culture very alien to me. In the retail section of the Samaritans, there are many vulnerable and impressionable individuals. It is crucial for them to feel that they will not be judged for their sexual orientation, gender identity, or any emotional and mental health challenges they may face while seeking social interaction.
Steven/stephen idek.. goodness me. Never have I even had a phone call with any worker from any company cheer me up like you. When I say he saved a life tonight, he really did. Bless your heart i will think of you for the rest of my life, you made a difference today.
Contacted twice in years, first time man was so impartial that he basically said'you're on your own, I can't help you make that decision' looking back,he should have told me to report something. Second time,same thing really, apart from a vague threat to report me if I was a danger to myself, I said I wasn't, job done. I am not in that place anymore, but I would not advise anyone to call them if in need of urgent mental health help, I'd advise calling a mental health crisis team,numbers are online, or going to A and E, as scary as that is,you at least feel hope.
Samaritans biggest supplier is from the incompetence of the nhs north middlesex university trust hospital. I've spent hours trying to get through for my mri appointment tomorrow at 11:30 no one ever answers or constantly engaged ive been passed to 8 different departments none have got a clue who and where I'm supposed to be going tomorrow
Phoned them after the crisis team have failed me multiple times. Woman picked up the phone and she sounded so utterly disconnected from life I think she is the one that needs help not me. I hung up after 20 seconds from hearing her voice. Creepy. Need to speak to someone that is actually THERE!
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