Money concerns Samaritans calls double in three years

The number of calls received by Samaritans from people with financial worries – including to the charity's branch in Telford – has more than doubled in the last three years, it was revealed today.

One in five people contacting the charity this year talked about their job concerns, housing problems, debt and other financial pressures. That is double the one in 10 calls about money worries received in 2008.

The issues are reflected in Samaritans' annual survey of the nation's worries, published today.

It reveals that 60 per cent of people in the West Midlands fear they will not have enough money to live comfortably in the coming year.

A third of people are concerned about losing their job or having difficulty finding work.

Telford Samaritans branch director Phyllis Hutchinson said: "Samaritans receives over 2.5 million calls a year and, since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, the number of people calling us about their money worries has doubled.

"If you're struggling to cope with the challenges you're facing in these difficult times, we'd encourage you to get in touch with Samaritans.

"Our service runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is available throughout the Christmas period."

The survey also showed a quarter of people in the region considered 2011 a bad year or their worst year ever, compared with 30 per cent in 2010.

The West Midlands, alongside Wales, is the region most worried about money, bank balance and debt, with 56 per cent compared to 48 per cent in the East Midlands and 50 per cent nationally.

Only one quarter of those surveyed in the Midlands were confident their financial situation would improve in the coming year.

A total of 2,146 adults, of whom 153 were in the West Midlands, took part in the survey between October 31 and November 6. Contact Telford Samaritans on (01952) 256161 or at www. telfordsamaritans.org.uk