NOW WE'RE FAR BETTER EQUIPPED, SAY THE SAMARITANS

A dedicated army of trained volunteers provides a sympathetic ear to people in their darkest hour.

At any time of day or night, 365 days a year, someone is available to listen at the Bradford branch of the Samaritans.

And the charity, which is run entirely by volunteers, now has a new base in Mornington Villas, Manningham, Bradford, where people can call in person to speak to one of the trained listeners.

The group has sold its old premises in Marlborough Road, which has been its home for 32 years.

"The new premises are better," said Gus, spokesman for the Bradford Branch.

"The rooms will provide us with better facilities for door callers, and the area for phones is going to be more purpose-made. We are a very busy branch, we take a lot of calls. The new building will provide better conditions for our volunteers."

The Bradford branch has been going since 1961 when the organisation started life in an upstairs room of the Cathedral Clergy house with a handful of helpers.

It now covers an area stretching from Cleckheaton to Horton-in-Ribblesdale - home to half a million people.

The 125 volunteers are kept busy staffing the telephones round the clock, as well as raising the £25,000 necessary to keep the branch running each year, and running the Shipley charity shop.

In addition Bradford branch volunteers make regular visits to Armley Jail, Leeds, to train inmates in listening skills.

And outreach sessions are held in Skipton, to cater for a large rural population and reach out to members of the agricultural community who have been under pressure due to the crisis in farming.

"We're always looking for volunteers because of people moving on through their jobs," said Gus, 57, who works for a greetings card company, and has been a Samaritan for several years.

"I got involved because I felt I wanted to put a little bit back in. I have known one or two people who have struggled in the past."

Volunteers are put through an extensive, structured training programme before being thrown in the deep end.

"There is a proper training programme that we embark upon and Bradford is very well regarded for its training," said Gus.

Famously Samaritan 'listeners' do not give out advice to their callers: they simply provide a sympathetic ear.

"People ring us if they're in crisis, when they have no-one to turn to. The hardest thing for them is to pick up the phone and talk to us, but when they do, it's a release.

"We don't give advice - but we're there for them. We're not going to be judgmental or tell them to pull themselves together, and it's all in total confidence."

And how do members of the Samaritans know if they've succeeded in helping someone - or perhaps even saving someone's life?

The answer is that usually, they never know. But sometimes, they get letters from their grateful people they have helped.

"Occasionally we will get a letter or someone will even phone up," said Gus.

"We even have volunteers who are people who once phoned us for help, and now want to put something back."

Factfil

e

Bradford Branch of the Samaritans has 125 volunteer members

Each of them works three hours a week manning the phones, plus one overnight shift per month

Between them they handle 30,000 calls per year from people in the Bradford district

Volunteers also fundraise and run the organisation's charity shop in Shipley

There are 20,000 Samaritans nationally - all unpaid

In the time it takes you to read this paper, two people in the UK will attempt to take their own life

In the next 90 minutes, one of them will die

Every day 16 people kill themselves (four of these will be under 30 years old)

6,000 people a year commit suicide - which is more than the number who die in traffic accidents

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