Shropshire Samaritans ready for Christmas calls rise

A survey carried out by the group revealed a quarter believe everything feels worse at Christmas and one in six saying it is the loneliest time of year.

It also reveals that one in 15 have often spent Christmas alone, and one in 25 of those questioned have said they are with friends and family, but really spent it alone.

• A volunteer will always answer. If you phone Samaritans, they will answer with something like “Samaritans, can I help you?”. With text, email, letter and face-to-face visits, how the volunteer responds to you depends on what you say.

• The volunteer will listen to you and help you talk through your concerns, worries and troubles. The charity will focus on your thoughts and feelings rather than going through the details, so they may ask questions to help explore how you feel.

• Most people who make contact with Samaritans are not suicidal.

• Sometimes people need to cry or show how angry they are at life, or go over their thoughts and feelings several times to make sense of them, and that’s fine – the volunteer will listen for as long as needed.

• The volunteer you speak to will not tell you what you should do. Samaritans won’t attempt to make decisions for you, and will support the decisions you make.

• If you want specific advice, Samaritans may be able to give you contact details for organisations that specialise in helping with a problem you may have.[/breakout]

Telford Samaritans' director Gwyneth Dale said: "For many, the holiday period can be a lovely time but, sadly, as our research shows, for some people this is not always the case.

"This time of year can bring up sad or painful memories, or worsen difficult feelings often related to family or relationship issues, or financial or health worries, to name just a few. The pressure to be having a good time or comparing your life with someone else's can be too much, leaving many feeling they have no-one to turn to.

"The important thing to remember is that no-one needs to feel alone this Christmas – last year Samaritans volunteers responded to nearly 200,000 calls for help over the festive period, and this year our volunteers will be there as usual, around the clock, every day.

"We don't judge and we don't share what we're told. We're simply there to listen, provide emotional support and help people find a way through whatever's getting to them."

Richard Dunnill, director of Shrewsbury Samaritans, is one of Samaritans' 21,000 volunteers and he will be helping cover the phones over the festive period in Shropshire.

He said: "This is my third year as a Samaritans volunteer and in that time I've seen the number of calls we receive go up each year. This Christmas I'll be giving a few hours of my time as someone to talk to.

"Many services shut down at this time of year, and family and friends may be far away, leaving some people feeling more isolated than usual. I hope that anyone reading this who is struggling at the moment feels able to call or email us, to talk to us about whatever is on their mind."

• To find out more about Samaritans in Shropshire email enquiries@shrewsburysamaritans.org.uk