Samaritans listen in total confidence to those in emotional distress or despair & at risk of suicide
We are always here for anyone in distress or despair, who needs someone to listen to them, face to face, by phone, e-mail or text. We never judge people and everything discussed is completely confidential.
Samaritans of Dorset is part of the International Samaritans movement, but a local charity, run by volunteers and we need about £30,000 a year from local fundraising.
Last year we received over 32,000 contacts and our outreach work involved two local prisons, schools and other groups.
Why the community needs usAn average of 1500 telephone calls from people in distress are received by the Weymouth branch each month, demonstrating a real need in the community for the service offered. No other organisation offers a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week service. Increasingly our calls for help come via e-mail & a pilot 'sms' text sevice will soon be extended nationwide. Our centre welcomes personal callers in the daytime and early evening. Many individuals tell us the call they made to Samaritans saved their life.
Our impact on the communitySamaritans believe that 'prevention is better than cure' & this drives our 'outreach' program of talks and visits to places such as schools & community groups, where we can put forward the message that talking and being listened to can help individuals to find a way forward in difficult situations.We have an active partnership with the 2 prisons on Portland, where our branch trains certain inmates to become 'Listeners', available at all times to help relieve the distress of fellow prisoners.
Listening volunteers are ordinary men & women who can give 3 hours a week & one night a month at our centre in Weymouth. Most contact is by telephone, but we also meet some people face-to-face & respond to e-mails.
Samaritans need to empathise with callers, giving them emotional support. We are non-judgemental and do not tell people what to do. Full initial training is given and each new Samaritan has an experienced volunteer as a mentor.
Support volunteers are always needed for fundraising etc.
