Requests for help to Samaritans hit a five-year-high last year as its volunteer numbers reached a 10-year peak
Confidential support charity Samaritans received more calls for help last year than it has done in the previous five.
The charity, which supports people who are experiencing feelings of distress, despair or suicidal thoughts, said its Scottish service dealt with almost a quarter of a million contacts in 2013. A total of 5.2 million contacts were made throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland.
The huge number of calls we are receiving shows that we need as many volunteers as possible - Andrew Sim
To coincide with Volunteers Week the charity also revealed it used the services of 1,067 volunteers in Scotland last year. The number marked a ten year high.
Across the UK and Ireland Samaritans 21,200 volunteers operated in 2013.
Andrew Sim, Samaritans executive director for Scotland said the service wouldn’t be able to exist without their commitment.
“We know that our callers benefit from having a real person at the end of the line, someone who is trained to really listen to them,” he said.
| Volunteer for Samaritans |
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| Those interested in volunteering for Samaritans in any role, including on the helpline, doing admin, fundraising or IT should visit samaritans.org/volunteer |
“It’s great to see that no matter their age or length of service, our volunteers deliver the same fantastic service through many different channels.
“The huge number of calls we are receiving shows that we need as many volunteers as possible.”
As well as a helpline and face-to-face support, Samaritans offers support through its website, via email and via text messaging.
A record 30,800 volunteering enquires were received via the site and there was a 12% increase in the number of emails and a 15% increase in text messages.
