Community outreach: Bognor Regis, Chichester & District Samaritans – more than just a friendly voice on phone

From helping school pupils learn to listen and support one another, to offering face-to-face sessions with vulnerable homeless people, the work of local Samaritans includes reaching out into the heart of the community and finding people often before they are in desperate need of its services.

These are the 85 members of Bognor Regis, Chichester & District Samaritans, (including trainees), many of whom are there to offer a listening ear and a friendly voice to people from all over the UK who are in the depths of despair.

They man the phone lines 365 days a year from an office in a small terraced house in Bognor Regis.

That commitment to being a confidential, non-judgemental listening voice is central to what Samaritans does, but what happens locally has moved on a long way from the charity’s beginnings 70 years ago.

One of the branch’s deputy directors, David Thornley, explained some of the outreach projects that they were involved with in the area.

Outreach work

Nationally there are partnerships Samaritans has – such as with the railways, training staff to recognise the signs of someone who might be thinking of taking their own life, and supporting staff following such tragedies on our rail network. Another is offering a listening service in prisons.

But locally they work in a number of ways directly too – helping teach people the tried and tested listening skills of Samaritans, and having face-to-face sessions in the community. Those who do this work are volunteers who have gone through the training and staff the phone lines, but who then get extra courses and training – called Emotional Support for Outside Situations.

“What we are doing is contacting people before they become desperate, just when they are just having a tough time,” David said. “There is a perception we are only there for the suicidal, but that is not the case.”

Places of learning

Volunteers give talks in local secondary schools to pupils in years 10, 11 and 12. David said the talks, which have been developed nationally by Samaritans, are about listening. It helps pupils to recognise if a friend might be struggling and gives them some tools for knowing what to do, what to say, and how to offer support.

“It’s about helping people to listen to each other and to support each other,” David explained. It seems obvious but people do not do it – they need to show they care and ask open questions.”

He said the reaction from pupils and staff was fantastic, and that the sessions were really well received.

The University of Chichester offers mental health ambassadors – some are students and some are staff. Again training developed by Samaritans nationally is delivered by local branch volunteers through a talk – a grown-up version of the one for schools. Outreach volunteers also attend college and university freshers days in the local area.

They have worked with other groups too, such as the University of the Third Age (U3A) and volunteers at the local Motor Neurone Disease Association.

“One thing Samaritans know a lot about is listening,” David said. “And it’s a skill we can pass on to others.”

The foodbank

Partnering with the Trussell Trust at Chichester Foodbank has been a way to directly reach people in the local community who are facing a tough time.

At the foodbank there are signposting volunteers who are there to help people find the right support for a variety of challenges, whilst they are there to pick up a food parcel. Outreach volunteers from Bognor Regis, Chichester & District Samaritans help these signposters to recognise if someone might need signposting to the Samaritans. A Samaritans card also goes into every food parcel. Sometimes this can be a vital first step to helping prevent loneliness or identifying other issues before they become overwhelming.

“We go along to the food bank sessions and meet people coming in as well, and have a chat with them and make sure they know who we are and how to contact us,” he added.

Support for the homeless

Face-to-face work with vulnerable people is done through local homeless charity Stonepillow. The charity has defined pathways for helping people with drop-in centres for people who are homeless, to hostels offering temporary accommodation and then supported accommodation.

Outreach volunteers go along to the drop in sessions, usually a couple of hours before mealtimes when people are gathering together. Volunteers will talk to people there, offer help and a listening ear and there is a private room available for people who want a longer conversation.

David says it’s a very different experience supporting someone face-to-face than on the phones, and one he finds is very rewarding.

“There’s more direct communication,” he says. “You can see someone’s body language and you get to know a bit more about them. It’s a much closer connection – more personal.

“One person I spoke to said this was the first time anyone had listened to them for years.”

About the volunteers

Get involved and train to become a listening volunteer with Bognor Regis, Chichester & District Samaritans. First there is an application and interview process and then training will begin.

All volunteers have training – six weeks of sessions in the evenings – and then they will start to listen into calls. Volunteers begin to take calls themselves as their confidence and knowledge grows. There is a six month period of ‘embedding’ where new recruits will have another volunteer with them during calls for support.

At the end of every shift – and shifts are about three hours long – there is a ‘downloading’ time, where volunteers discuss the calls they’ve had with an experienced colleague – this is ongoing, beyond the six month period.

Some volunteers might do one shift a week, some do more, and they come from all walks of life, all backgrounds and experience.

Find out more

To find out more about volunteering, fundraising or the work of Chichester and Bognor Regis branch of Samaritans visit the website here.

If you want to speak to a listening volunteer call the Freephone line 116 123 (calls are free from any phone). Samaritans can also be contacted via email at [email protected]