60 years of the Samaritans

"A lot of people don't have anyone to talk to."

Claire says this to explain why she decided to volunteer with the Samaritans.

It is a simple sentence, but it succinctly describes why the charity is needed as much now as it was when it first set up 60 years ago.

"There are people who are in distress and don't have anyone to talk to or don't feel they can talk to someone they are close to," she explains.

"That's why I thought it would be good to get involved."

One of 176 volunteers at the Glasgow branch, in a shift once a week, Claire answers the phones to those calling in their darkest hour, desperately in need of someone to talk to.

"There is no average shift," she says, "every call is different.

"The purpose of us being here is to listen to the caller. Sometimes we don't say a word and other times we can have a conversation."

She adds: "With the most serious calls, ultimately you have a suicide in progress.

"We have to support that individual the best we can.

"There's no limit to the length of the call - it can be however long that person wants to be on the phone."

Last year Glasgow Samaritans answered more than 24,000 calls for help: relationship problems, financial worries, concerns about a relative...there are myriad different reasons why someone picks up the phone.

One thing that never changes is the response from the person on the other end.

Volunteers go through rigorous training: they don't judge and are not shocked at what they hear.

They listen. Some callers phone in only once, others can call regularly over a number of years.

"A lot of our callers have mental health problems and many have relationship difficulties, are isolated, have no friends and don't know how to make friends," says Claire.

"In every call we ask about their suicidal intent."

The thinking behind this is very straightforward: if you're feeling suicidal and tell your family or friends, they'll say don't be stupid, think of the children, it will get better, and possibly give the wrong responses.

Samaritans are trained to be laid back, giving the caller time and space to talk, because it is therapeutic to speak about being suicidal and get a response that isn't to be shocked.

Claire says she only found she had the confidence to pick up the phone to callers after the intensive training.

"I wouldn't be able to be a Samaritan and feel I was able to do it if I didn't have that training," she says.

"Trainers pretend to be a caller and you have a phone call with them. It is very realistic, and that's what makes you feel you can go on the phone."

Dr Chad Varah set up the Samaritans in London in 1953 as a 999 for the suicidal, a confidential emergency service for people in distress.

Like shifting trends, lifestyles and problems have altered over the years, as well as the way people communicate with the charity.

IN 1953 many people did not have a telephone at home, and either had to use a public telephone or contact the Samaritans by letter.

Today the telephone is still the main way to get in touch, but emails and text messages are increasing rapidly.

An ever-growing number of outreach projects means volunteers work in hospitals, schools, job centres, food banks and prisons.

"We have also recently started signposting callers to other organisations, if we think they can offer help: Childline, Rape Crisis, homeless shelters and Cruise," explains Claire.

"We give emotional support, we don't give advice. We give people time and space.

"There are a lot of people who just feel lonely. And a lot of people think that it is just them feeling that way and it's not. They just need someone to talk to."

Back in 1960 the Glasgow branch of the Samaritans was only the fourth to open in the country.

It has been manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ever since.

Current chairwoman Joan Cameron joined 39 years ago, inspired, she says, by a television programme at the time called The Befrienders.

"I'm still learning because every call in different," says Joan.

"I think now there are more people with mental health problems and there are more relationship problems.

"Maybe there are more family break-ups, I don't know if that is to do with economic changes, but there are certainly more relationship problems and more self-harm and abuse.

"Maybe that is because these issues are talked about more they were before."

The charity receives no Government funding and relies on donations.

Joan recalls a recent fundraising drive at Central Station that showed the high regard people have for the Samaritans.

"People came up and emptied their purses and wallets and we said, do you want a leaflet? And they said, no, we know all about you.

"The people who came up and gave us money tended to be people who had used the service. I thought that was really nice."

angela.mcmanus @eveningtimes.co.uk