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Your turn to be good: help Cambridge Samaritans




Cambridge Samaritans has continued operating from its Emmanuel Road base since the pandemic began
Cambridge Samaritans has continued operating from its Emmanuel Road base since the pandemic began

Brenda Bond, a volunteer at Cambridge Samaritans, is a tad uncertain about pitching for crowdfunding support for the Emmanuel Road-based helpline which takes more than 30,000 calls and 2,000 emails every year from people who are desperate, in despair and/or overwhelmed by their circumstances.

“We’ve not done crowdfunding before,” she explains, “but we’ve had a lot of support for the launch.

“It’s very difficult for us because we are all volunteers. But coronavirus has caused our usual fundraising to suddenly stop completely. The money will literally be to help us pay the bills, maintenance and some safety measures like social distancing and hygiene for volunteers working at the centre so we can continue to provide the service now, when we are needed the most.”

The appeal, which launched on June 3, is for £10,000.

“It’s less than a quarter of the year’s running costs,” says Brenda. “We have 180 volunteers at the centre. We answer around 30,000 calls into the centre every year - it’s a spectacular service.”

The Samaritans were founded by Chad Varah, a vicar and writer-cartoonist, in London in 1953. The Cambridge service began in 1962.

“We’re lucky as we own the building, it was bought with money left to Cambridge Samaritans,” says Brenda. “Emmanuel Road continues working fully and to keep it working fully we need fundraising as the money has fallen off a cliff.

“We have applied for grants with a little success but we have to keep fundraising to pay our own way.”

Brenda Bond, volunteer listener at Cambridge Samaritans
Brenda Bond, volunteer listener at Cambridge Samaritans

The volunteers still go to the site for their shifts.

“The Samaritans say they can’t take their calls from home, as they work at least in pairs for their security and for the volunteers’ wellbeing. The main point of the service we provide is that we stay with people on the phone when they need us the most.”

So has there been any change in the number or type of calls they are receiving, any new triggers?

“It’s everything you can think of,” Brenda says. “It might be a lost job, or they’ve been forloughed, or they’re ill - it’s anything and everything. The virus is a really big concern for people, not least financially because people are losing their jobs or businesses. And this is on top of the many pressures, sadnesses and anxieties many people are already trying to cope with.”

The Samaritans is a critical service: to field 80 calls a day as they do, from people at the furthermost extremities of distress, requires huge reserves of concentration and strength of mind - and training.

“We train 40 volunteers a year, in two separate periods of training. A lot of it is about taking calls and learning to listen well without judging; there’s also paperwork, observation duties and ongoing refresher training.”

Help Cambridge Samaritans
Help Cambridge Samaritans

“We are seeing significant caller concerns being expressed around mental health and illness, family and relationships, isolation and loneliness. Volunteers have reported that some of the most common concerns include being unable to access mental health services, reduced coping mechanisms – for instance through the loss of seeing friends, taking part in hobbies or having a consistent routine – and strained relationships both from being separated from loved ones or tensions rising in households.

“We know that people who are unemployed are two to three times more likely to die by suicide than those in employment. For less well-off middle aged men who are at a high risk of suicide, the end of a period of employment was often connected to a downturn in wellbeing. But suicide isn’t inevitable – and we have an opportunity to prevent it and try to ensure that rates don’t rise. This crisis is the biggest challenge Samaritans has ever faced.”

Branch director John Humpston said: “We are privileged to support people who seek to talk or write to us. In these unprecedented times, loneliness and anxiety is often heightened. We are all local, trained, unpaid volunteers, covering the 24/7 service. We rely on the kindness of donors to sustain the running costs of the service.”

To read more or make a donation please go to avivacommunityfund.co.uk/cambridge-samaritans.



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