Samaritans NI impact report 2015

I FOUND THE SpAce TO SAY ITNorthern Ireland Impact Report2014/2015

2 Northern Ireland Impact Report 2014/2015

VISION, MISSION AND VALUES

We work to achieve this vision by making it our mission to alleviate emotional distress and reduce the incidence of suicidal feelings and suicidal behaviour. We do this by:

Being available round the clock to provide emotional support for people who are experiencing feelings of emotional distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide.

Working in partnership with other organisations, agencies and experts to achieve our Vision.

Influencing public policy and raising awareness of the challenges of reducing suicide.

Reaching out to high risk groups and communities to reduce the risk of suicide.

Samaritans’ vision is that fewer people die by suicide

We are committed to the following values: listening, confidentiality, people making their own decisions, being non-judgemental and offering people human contact.

Contents4 Statement from Robert McBride

5 Report by Catherine Brogan

6 Samaritans work in Northern Ireland

14 Helpline statistics

16 Focus on volunteers

18 Branch highlights

27 Map of branches and festivals


Robert McBride, Regional Director

It is a huge privilege to listen to someone share, perhaps for the first time, thoughts or fears that may have troubled them for years. It is a great responsibility to respond appropriately to those confidences – supporting a person but never disempowering them. As a volunteer in Craigavon branch, I can only say that I have been humbled by the experience.

It has also been humbling to visit branches throughout the island and witness the enthusiasm and dedication of so many volunteers within the organisation. Our branches rely on their own fundraising activities to keep their branch running and many of the people you see on the street holding a Samaritans collection box may have also completed several hours active listening that week. All our listening and support volunteers are passionate about our vision of reducing suicide throughout these islands and of meeting the particular needs of their local communities.

This local focus, combined with a cross-border structure, made us a natural partner for the Gaelic Athletic Association’s mental health initiative to encourage people to ask for help when times are tough. We have nurtured a relationship with one of the principal gatekeepers in nearly every parish in Ireland which we hope will help change lives and be a model for other partnerships in the future.

Call charges are a barrier that prevent many people in financial difficulties from accessing our support and Samaritans is looking forward to the introduction and roll out of our free-to-caller number. The organisation requires proper funding in order to maintain the service that our callers deserve in a time of growing need. Last year saw a dramatic increase in contacts in the Republic after the launch of the free-to-caller number. We need to continue recruiting and training volunteers to help us to maintain round the clock availability.

I recently attended the presentation of certificates to new prison Listeners. These are people who, while serving their sentences, have received specialist Samaritans training and who are then available to support their fellow prisoners through difficult times. They operate in the toughest of circumstances and I can only say I have the utmost respect for them, for the Samaritans who work with them, and for the work they do: it is actually inspirational.

When looking at the progress we have made over the last year it is clear to me how closely related challenges and achievements can be. Our efforts to meet the challenges we face by offering support around the clock, every single day of the year, have led to several significant achievements. I trust that the support of local institutions, businesses and communities will make sure that we continue to grow and serve.

Samaritans supports people struggling to cope, helping them to make their own decisions and find a way through their problems. Everything we do is focused on giving people time and space to explore their feelings, whether they are suicidal or not.

5Northern Ireland Impact Report 2014/2015

Catherine Brogan Executive Director

Chad’s vision in 1953 was that anyone struggling to cope would be able to access emotional support round the clock every single day of the year.

In the last 53 years branches have opened in Ballymena, Bangor, Coleraine, Newry, Omagh, Craigavon and Derry. Samaritans provide emotional support through listening, SMS, email, face to face, the Listener Scheme in prisons, as well as festival and outreach work; delivered by over 800 highly skilled volunteers.

This year marks the inaugural impact report of Samaritans in Northern Ireland and is intended to document the work of the service over the last 12 months.

In the last year Samaritans have strengthened our connections with other organisations, and consolidated partnerships. We are working with the Public Health Agency and the media to promote sensitive and appropriate reporting of suicide. The Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) partnership has strengthened and Samaritan volunteer liaison officers are working with the GAA Health and Wellbeing officers in delivering awareness training and listening skills training to clubs and coaches.

In March 2015 the NI Helplines Network was launched which is a great example of what can be achieved to maximise resources and raise awareness of the levels of supports that are available in communities.

In supporting the vision for Samaritans that fewer people will die by suicide, we launched our Strategic Action Plan (2014–2016) at Stormont in November 2014. This provides us with a road map identifying key areas of consolidating and extending our existing services and becoming recognised as first point of contact in Northern Ireland. Samaritans services are crucial in the support they provide to people struggling to cope with the busiest hours for Samaritans being from 6pm in the evening to 2am in the morning, when other services may not be available.

These are exciting times for us but it also presents challenges to all branches of Samaritans. As we prepare for the roll out of our free-to-caller number we will need more volunteers to be available to support those who contact our service. We want to ensure that we can be there as that first point of contact for anyone who is struggling to cope. Whether it is issues relating to finance, relationships, depression, loneliness or where a person feels so low that they are considering taking their own life, Samaritans will continue to be available around the clock every single day of the year.

This can only be done through the dedication, energy, passion and sheer determination of Samaritans volunteers. We look forward to consolidating the key services offered, communicating the message of hope and continuing to deliver a service that offers emotional support and connection to anyone who needs us in the future.

The first Samaritans branch in Northern Ireland opened its doors in Belfast in 1962 to build on the service founded by Prebendary Dr Chad Varah CH CBE.


Samaritans work in Northern Ireland Samaritans was founded in 1953. It is the central charity and coordinating body for the 201 Samaritans branches in the UK and Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Each branch is an independent, charitable organisation. Samaritans branches are organised and work together in 13 geographic regions to offer space to talk for anyone going through a difficult time.

The 20 branches in Ireland comprise one region, with eight branches in Northern Ireland and 12 branches in the Republic of Ireland – as well as a new service being developed on the East Coast (ROI) and our Festival team. This report deals solely with the work of the branches in Northern Ireland.

The head office of Central Charity is based in Surrey and Samaritans Ireland is based in Dublin. Samaritans Ireland was established in December 2007 and began operating in April 2008. A staff member has been based in Belfast since August 2014.

Samaritans is governed by a Board of Trustees, which currently has the maximum 13 members, who are also Directors of the company. Two-thirds of the Board of Trustees must be Samaritans volunteers. The Board is advised by the Council of Samaritans, which is made up of a representative from each Samaritans branch, a representative from each of the 13 operational regions and the elected Chair of Samaritans, Jenni McCartney.

The Chair of Samaritans, as elected by the Council of Samaritans, is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees. The Regional Directors represent the Board of Trustees in the wider organisation and play a key role in supporting branches to bring in Samaritans’ policies. In Ireland, the position of Regional Director is currently held by Robert McBride.

Overview of servicesSamaritans offers a safe place for people to talk when things are getting to them and you do not have to be suicidal to use our service. We’re always here and volunteers keep conversations between us. People can speak to us by telephone, face-to-face, email, text message and via letter.

We also reach out to people at festivals and other public events, in prisons, hospitals, schools, the workplace and with other groups in local communities, such as at homeless shelters. Our services are about connecting with people who are struggling to cope.

People contact Samaritans about a wide range of issues, including depression, relationship and family issues, loneliness, physical and mental health issues, alcohol, drugs, self-harm, financial worries, illness and exam pressures, as well as suicidal thoughts and feelings. In 2014, financial pressures and their impact on relationships and families were common reasons people gave for contacting us.

7Samaritans work in Northern Ireland

Samaritans Ireland Strategic Action Plan was launched on 4 November 2014 at Stormont. This was officiated by the First Minister, Peter Robinson, and Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness both of whom delivered keynote speeches. Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: “It is a tragic fact that suicide rates continue to rise across Ireland and Northern Ireland. Samaritans provides an invaluable service dedicated to preventing suicide and providing much needed emotional support to our communities. This would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of the 21,200 volunteers who manage the helpline and support the various branches. I welcome this three year Strategic Action Plan, which reflects Samaritans continued commitment to our communities.”

In the context of an ever increasing number of suicides the overarching aim of the Strategic Action Plan is to establish Samaritans as an integral partner in the provision of emotional support and suicide reduction. To achieve this, the Strategic Action Plan has been developed, following a lengthy consultation period, reflecting very much what our stakeholders want from Samaritans organisation including our callers, volunteers, the public and statutory bodies.

The launch at Stormont followed a successful meeting in August 2014 with Maeve McLaughlin MLA, Chair of the Health Committee, who was keen

to hear about the extent and range of Samaritans services across all communities in Northern Ireland. Samaritans also had the opportunity to present a briefing paper in October 2014 to a sub-group of the Health Committee in the Long Gallery at Stormont to raise the profile of Samaritans among key policy influencers.

Presentations at the launch of the Strategic Action Plan were delivered by volunteers outlining who Samaritans are and what we do, our work in prisons, outreach in local communities across Northern Ireland and the work achieved by the Festival team. This gave a valuable insight into what we aim to achieve and how we work with an audience from across the key stakeholder groups in Northern Ireland.

Launch of Samaritans Ireland Strategic Action Plan


FreecallMaking our helpline services free to call is a longstanding ambition for Samaritans and one of the main goals of our new strategy, ‘Working Together to Reduce Suicide’.

It would greatly benefit our callers, as they would be able to call us from landlines, mobiles and payphones without having to worry about what the call might cost them. It would also mean that callers on pay-as-you-go mobiles would be able to call us even when they have run out of credit.

Our free-to-caller number does not show up on phone bills, which is important to callers who do not want to other members of their household to know that they have called Samaritans.

As part of our Big Lottery-funded Freecall pilot programme, we have been working with telecommunications companies, Ofcom and the Department of Health in England to try to find a way to make Freecall sustainable for Samaritans.

We have made great progress in this area and, as a result, we hope to be able to launch our Freecall service across the UK very soon.

9

On average, more than 300 individuals take their own lives by suicide each year across Northern Ireland with some of these deaths attracting media attention. Suicide is a complex topic and presents distinct challenges for the journalists who report on it, who have to balance what is in the public interest with the risk of encouraging imitative behaviour. They must also guard against intrusion into the grief and shock of the bereaved while considering industry regulation and codes of practice.

Research shows that inappropriate reporting of suicide may lead to imitative or ‘copycat’ behaviour. For example, if vulnerable groups such as people with mental health problems and young people are provided with details about the method of suicide used, it can lead to more deaths using the same method.

Samaritans’ Media Guidelines for Reporting Suicide has been produced following extensive consultation with journalists and editors throughout the industry. The Guidelines provide practical recommendations for reporting suicide across all media. They are a valuable resource for those in the media who report on suicide, to make sure that the quality of reporting and portrayal of suicide is both sensitive and of a high standard.

Samaritans has also produced a series of supplementary factsheets, available to download via the website, including: ‘Working with bereaved families in the aftermath of a suicide’, ‘Rail suicides’, ‘Broadcast media’, ‘Murder-suicides’, ‘Digital media’, and ‘Drama portrayal’.

The Guidelines are advisory. They are not exhaustive and are in no way intended to limit press freedom. Our aim is to prevent suicides whenever possible. First and foremost, we want to support the highest quality journalism and help reporters avoid common pitfalls when reporting on suicide.

Media guidelines for reporting suicide

Samaritans work in Northern Ireland


Launch of Helplines Network NIHelplines Network NI is a membership–led organisation consisting of over 20 different helplines, including Samaritans, operating across Northern Ireland. The Network members provide a variety of vital support services including information, advice, counselling, a listening ear and befriending, covering a wide range of needs and issues. The website helplinesnetworkni.com offers a single point of access to the various helpline numbers and websites, where people can find the right helpline to suit their needs.

In March 2015, the then Belfast Lord Mayor, Nichola Mallon and Dr Eddie Rooney, Chief Executive of the Public Health Agency, launched the new website and information leaflet for Helplines Network NI. The Helplines Network NI website and information leaflet raise awareness of the range of helplines and sign-post the public, health professionals, communities and the media to the various support services that exist.

The diversity of helplines currently operating in Northern Ireland reflects the growing complex needs of our society. Over a quarter of a million (274, 865) calls were answered and support given by the helplines Network NI members in 2013/14, clearly demonstrating the demand for these services.

As a group, Helplines Network NI meets quarterly and shares best practice and knowledge of how each helpline can support people. Sharing best practice is especially useful for the smaller helplines which may have fewer resources. It is hoped that more helplines will join the group and website in the future, to further reflect the growing diversity and needs in our society.

As the longest established emotional support helpline in Northern Ireland, Samaritans is delighted to be a member of the network and to share our experience and learn from the experiences of others.

11

In April 2014, the GAA and Samaritans teamed up to announce a new partnership to offer emotional support to GAA members who are struggling to cope. The GAA chose Samaritans as their mental health partner, with both organisations working together to encourage people who are going through a tough time to access the support provided by Samaritans. We are working together nationally and locally to raise awareness of our service.

Each Samaritans branch has appointed a GAA liaison officer to work with the committees in their area and respond to the growing desire of clubs to provide support locally. Samaritans are delivering a number of active listening workshops through the GAA’s new county health and wellbeing committees. This partnership has enabled Samaritans to raise awareness of our service among the GAA community. Posters have been issued to every GAA club in Ireland promoting our service and there are links on the GAA website to our telephone and email details.

The 3fivetwo Group, a private healthcare group in Northern Ireland, is the healthcare partner for Ulster GAA who also have links to our helpline number and contact details on their website.

Samaritans had a visible presence at Provincial Championship games last summer. Teams of volunteers were at the Leinster and Ulster Provincial Football Finals, the Munster Hurling Final and the Fan Zone Health Fair to let match-goers know about our service and to hand out publicity materials. Over the three matches our volunteers raised awareness of our service to 49,000 fans. Information appeared on the big screen during these matches and in the match programmes.

In March 2014, Samaritans presented a workshop at the GAA’s first Health and Wellbeing Conference at Croke Park. In November 2014, Samaritans presented two workshops at the Ulster GAA Conference in Belfast.

Gaelic Athletics Association partnership

In Northern Ireland we are furthering our partnership with the Public Health Agency (PHA) through the delivery of information sessions to media groups and Media or Journalism students at University of Ulster and FE Colleges.

These sessions will combine the expertise within the PHA on media monitoring as well as our own skills and best practice on how to appropriately and sensitively report suicide as outlined in our Media Guidelines. We have also developed packs that have been sent to Editors outlining the support Samaritans and the PHA provide.

Public Health Agency partnershipThe packs include a poster to be displayed in newsrooms across Northern Ireland highlighting key messages from our Media Guidelines to reinforce the importance of appropriate reporting.

Through working closely with the media to promote responsible reporting of suicide, we have seen signs of significant progress over the years. One of the ways coverage of suicide can have a positive affect is by encouraging people to seek help. Sensitive coverage can also help reduce the taboo around talking about suicidal feelings as well as challenging the stigma around it.



Northern Ireland Prison Service partnership A grant agreement has been set up between NIPS and Samaritans to support the continuation of this relationship. This is also in recognition of the unique and hugely positive contribution made by Samaritans to NIPS’ safer custody agenda of keeping prisoner’s safe. The support provided by Samaritans is primarily through the delivery of the Listener Scheme but also through face to face support from branch volunteers where there is no Listener Scheme.

Samaritans believes the Listener Scheme contributes to a safe custody environment and supports the treatment of prisoners with dignity and respect, by:

Helping to improve the mental health and emotional wellbeing of prisoners – making a difference to the choices they make in prison and after prison and thereby playing a role in NIPS’ efforts to break the cycle of reoffending

Giving Listeners new skills and a sense of responsibility which helps them within the prison environment and on release.

13

Our prison workSamaritans in Northern Ireland continues to target the most vulnerable communities through its vital prison outreach work. Prisoners are one of the groups in society most vulnerable to suicide, with research showing that men in prison are eight times more likely to take their lives than men in the general population, and women in prison 20 times more likely to die by suicide than women in the outside world.

Samaritans support prisoners through a number of methods: round the clock access to our phone service within the prison, providing emotional support on the wings of prisons, and setting up and running our ground breaking peer to peer support, the Listener Scheme.

Currently Samaritans has three Listener schemes running in Northern Ireland; Belfast branch provide two Listener schemes in Maghaberry Prison, and Coleraine branch, supported by Derry, provide a successful scheme in Magilligan Prison. Belfast and Bangor work together to provide emotional support to Hydebank Young Offenders Centre and Women’s Prison, and are in the process of setting up a Listener scheme with the young offenders.

Not only do Samaritans provide emotional support to prisoners, suicide awareness sessions are run for prison staff through the Officer Awareness Programme run by our volunteer branches.

Emotional Awareness Training is also run for prisoners; this programme was devised for and delivered to the young offenders of Hydebank YOC, but has been expanded with workshops on bullying, self-harm and mental illness, which will be delivered to the women of HMP Hydebank later this year.

Overall, Samaritans has developed a very strong working relationship with Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS). Samaritans attend the safer custody committees of their local prisons, using their experience to impact policy and implementation. Meanwhile the Listener Training team of Belfast branch was nominated for the Lord Mayor’s charity award, receiving a Certificate of Achievement. The NIPS partnership, along with our other prison service relationships, was the recipient of the prestigious 2014 Times Charity Award for cross-sector partnership of the year.

The Northern Irish prison teams and Listeners have had a busy year. In Northern Ireland 22 active Listeners took 1,554 contacts during 2014, whilst the prison teams trained 16 new Listeners in that period. The Listener Schemes would not be possible without the tireless dedication of Samaritans volunteers, Prison Support Ireland and the Listeners themselves who provide round the clock support to prisoners across Northern Ireland.

Gillian McNaull Regional Prison Support Officer Ireland


Helpline statistics

Nature of callsSamaritans regularly looks at the nature of the calls to the service regularly and confidentially. During 2014, the five main issues were:

Family/relationship problems

Depression and mental health issues

Loneliness

Stress/anxiety

Abuse

Answered calls From January to December 2014, a total of 116,617 calls were answered by Samaritans branches in Northern Ireland.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans answers over five million calls for help every year. That is one call every six seconds.


15Helpline statistics

12am

3am

3pm

6am

6pm

9pm

9am

12pm

145,226 CALLS FOR HELP

ANSWERED IN NORTHERN

IRELAND DURING 2014

telephone 80.3%

sms 9.7%

email 9.3%

face to face 0.7%

When we answer callsThe busiest time of day for our helpline is into the evening, with calls starting to increase at 6pm until 2am, and the quietest times are at around 3am to 8am. 80% of our calls were at night-time or weekends. This is outside the time when traditional services are available and shows that there is a need for our service when other services are closed.

The average length of a call in Northern Ireland is eight minutes – however calls can go on for significantly longer.

Mode of contactWhile the majority of contacts to Samaritans are by telephone, our service is also available by email, letter, SMS and through face to face support in our branches throughout Northern Ireland.

1,008 people received face to face support from Samaritans in Northern Ireland in 2014. Within this time, 13,561 emails and 14,040 SMS contacts were supported. This means that in total, Samaritans answered 145,226 calls for help in Northern Ireland during 2014.

There are currently 808 volunteers in Samaritans branches in Northern Ireland. The largest branch is Belfast with 220 volunteers and the smallest is Craigavon with 62.

Focus on volunteers

Samaritans invests heavily in initial and ongoing training for volunteers. The introductory training programme lasts 16 weeks, with between three and eight hours of training per week and only once this is completed do new volunteers answer calls alone.

This initial training is followed by a six-month mentoring programme for new volunteers, while experienced volunteers participate in compulsory, additional training on an ongoing basis.

Volunteers are the heart of Samaritans, delivering the core support service, running local branches, raising much-needed funds, and raising awareness of our service. The growing demands on volunteer time are considerable and Samaritans is always working to expand the volunteer base.


My name is Jodie, I am 24 years old and I live in County Armagh. I have been volunteering since January 2013, and am based in the Craigavon branch, Portadown.

I originally trained in Coleraine, while I was studying in my final year of Psychology but transferred to Craigavon once I graduated and moved home.

As a listening volunteer, I complete a three hour telephone shift each week, answering calls and emails from across the UK and Ireland. In March 2014, I was appointed as Deputy Director, responsible for Outreach. This means I work within the local community to raise awareness about what Samaritans do and how we can offer help to anyone who needs someone to listen. Over the past year we have worked with local high schools, GAA clubs, football clubs and local festivals, including the Brownlow Festival in Craigavon. As a branch, we are responsible for all our own fundraising and I work with our fundraising volunteers, helping on collection days and taking part in fundraisers. I am currently training for the Lap the Lough cycle at the end of August, an 85 mile cycle around Lough Neagh with my husband, friends and other volunteers; we hope to raise around £500 for the branch.

I thoroughly enjoy volunteering with Samaritans. The training provided is second to none; they prepare you for every eventuality and offer first class debriefing and support. The team of volunteers in both branches where I have volunteered are extremely welcoming and encouraging. With a number of volunteer events throughout the year like our Christmas party and summer garden party, it’s like having a second family.

“

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Volunteer profile

17Focus on volunteers

Branch highlightsBallymena The work of the 71 volunteers of Ballymena Samaritans was acknowledged by the local council which saw the branch receive an Outstanding Contribution Award for service to the community over a 40 year period. Alongside general duties of answering phones, emailing and face to face calls, the branch has established solid partnerships with local groups such as motorcycle clubs, community groups and schools. The aim is to promote the service to as many people as possible through attending events and providing information.

Ballymena branch is keen to take on new initiatives to provide funds to ensure the continued provision of the service. By combining fundraising activities with a personal challenge and gain, they have facilitated events as such as fire walking and abseiling.

This year will see both volunteers and support volunteers completing the Belfast Marathon and cycling over 80km as part of the Lap the Lough cycle. The focus is now on networking with the other branches in the north to set up a forum where ideas can be shared and the workload spread.

The skills and commitment of the volunteers is one of the strengths of Ballymena Samaritans. This is recognised by encouraging and supporting involvement in other aspects of Samaritan work such as outreach, recruitment, administration, fundraising and managing the efficient running of the branch as a team and as part of the wider organisation.

Tracey Scott Director


Bangor and North DownBangor and North Down Branch of Samaritans is situated right in the heart of Bangor town centre at 92 Dufferin Avenue. We have 70 enthusiastic and hard-working volunteers who supported callers on the phone, by text, email and face to face. We also, along with our neighbouring Belfast Branch, provided much needed Samaritans support to young offenders and women prisoners at Hydebank Wood Prison and Young Offenders Centre.

In the past year we have been involved in a number of exciting outreach and fundraising activities, with a particular focus on sport. One of the highlights of the year was a partnership with the North Down Cycling Club who raised a massive £10,000 for the branch during the course of their Peninsula Challenge. The funds helped us to carry out a much needed refurbishment of our operations room, which we hope will help us to retain and support volunteers to provide even better services to our callers.

The branch also collaborated with Bangor Football Club and SportsZone NI who agreed to the prominent display of Samaritans’ signage and

contact details at the Bangor Fuels Arena. This was a great opportunity to highlight the valuable work of the Samaritans, whilst getting our message out to young and middle aged men.

We had a series of successful fundraising events in addition to street collections, bag packing in supermarkets and application for grants. In December, we were delighted to have the Serendipity Choir sing for us at Sainsbury’s, raising a substantial sum, and we had similar success with a pub quiz which we ran in the Imperial Hotel, Bangor.

We were also very pleased in recent months to have attended a reception hosted by the Mayor of North Down (Cllr. Peter Martin) who subsequently visited the branch to meet volunteers and to publicise the important work that we do.

The branch has had a great year and we are confident that we can build on our successes and partnerships in the year ahead.

Deirdre Walsh Director

19Branch highlights

BelfastSeptember 10 2014, World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) brought many challenges, interesting moments and time for reflection for the 220 listening volunteers at Belfast Branch.

This global awareness raising day began at 11am with the Belfast Lord Mayor, Nichola Mallon visiting our Branch. The Lord Mayor has previously demonstrated a real interest in our work and this visit was to explain more about what we do and how we reach out to those in need. Following a brief presentation and discussion with a number of our Deputy Directors and Committee members, the Lord Mayor toured the Branch speaking with volunteers in the duty room and getting a real feel of what life is like being a Samaritan Volunteer.

In the afternoon of WSPD Belfast Samaritans joined with other speakers to present at a conference to mark this significant day. Also speaking were Professor Mike Tomlinson, Queen's University and Professor Siobhan O'Neill, University of Ulster, each of whom explored their research into suicide in Northern Ireland.

Madeline Heaney and Catherine Millman from the Public Health Agency presented an overview and research regarding media campaigns that are part of the Protect Life strategy. The conference was opened by the then Minister for Health, Edwin Poots in the Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast.

In the early evening we supported Survivors of Suicide (SOS) at a special event in East Belfast, an area which has seen much sad loss to suicide.

Finally at 7.30pm on WSPD, over 60 volunteers gathered in the branch to acknowledge the long service of 93 volunteers who had served five years and upwards. Robert McBride, Regional Director Ireland, presented the Long Service Certificates, equating to 1,371 years of service and dedication to our community. Our two longest serving members, Jack 1 with 49 years and Dorothy 3 with 40 years received great big cheers from all gathered – what wonderful commitment and dedication!

Pamela James Director


Coleraine Coleraine & District branch of Samaritans currently has over 80 listening volunteers and a growing number of support volunteers at our branch situated at 20 Lodge Rd Coleraine, directly opposite the local Police Service Northern Ireland station and in a prominent location in the town serving our face to face callers. Our youngest volunteer at present is just approaching their 19th birthday and our eldest has 'seen off' their eightieth, so quite an age range! As well as actively carrying out our listening duties, Coleraine has a very active role to play within our local community with a very hard-working Outreach and Publicity team as well as our tireless fundraisers.

Our teams work very hard to build up connections and relationships with many local groups, for example schools, Health Trust groups, local food banks, sports teams and clubs, Masons to name but a few of the voluntary and statuary bodies we have forged close relationships with. Our well trained team carry out talks and workshops at many different levels and our fundraisers tend to build on these relationships to help raise much needed funds as well as awareness. HMP Magilligan was the first prison in Ireland to introduce the Listener scheme, with the hard work and diligence and often patience of our very dedicated prison team we continue to train and support inmates as Listeners within the prison as well as offering training and often support to the staff within HMP Magilligan. We are proud also to be included in Safer Custody meetings to help improve the safer care of inmates. The working partnership is now in it's thirteenth year and continues to thrive currently with ten Listeners serving a prison population of over 500.

Every year we welcome our colleagues from the Festival team to the North Coast with a reception of local dignitaries as well as famous faces from the motorcycling world. From there Festival will support those in need whilst local volunteers have a presence in and around the paddocks with visitors, racers and families alike. We use this opportunity, as we have done for twelve years, to raise awareness of the service not just in our area but across the region and the UK and indeed worldwide with our presence both physically and publicity-wise. We are grateful to the NW200 committee and Coleraine & District Motor club for this opportunity and hope to continue to build on the relationship.

Coleraine Branch is a sociable and friendly branch as well being fully integrated into the local community and continues to offer support as we have done for the past 44 years.

Kate Miller Director

21Branch highlights

CraigavonCraigavon branch covers the geographical areas of Craigavon, Armagh, Banbridge and Dungannon. In the last year we have managed to increase our volunteer base by over 30%. Our volunteers come from all walks of life, but all come with the same aim – to be there for someone in need.

The branch has had a busy year with recruitment and development of our volunteers and strengthening our presence in the community. 2014 saw the fruition of a long campaign by the branch to have signs erected at Craigavon Lakes, sadly synonymous with suicides in the area.

The branch first approached the council with the idea in November 2011. A formal proposal was submitted in October 2012, followed by further discussions in the early months of 2014, including talks with then Mayor, Councillor Mark Baxter.

The Samaritans proposal was for the erection of four signs at selected locations around the Craigavon Lakes. The project was to be funded by Craigavon Samaritans. The proposals were approved in May and the signs were erected in October.

The branch has thanked the council for supporting the signage project and the former Mayor, Councillor Mark Baxter, Councillor Carla Lockhart and council officers. Councillor Lockhart said at the May Council meeting; “If the signs make one person think again, they will have done their job.”Mr Baxter said, “I’m delighted to finally see this initiative come to Craigavon Lakes and I must pay tribute to the Samaritans locally who not only do sterling work in the community, but by their determination and persistence have seen this project come to fruition. I’m glad that I’ve played a small part and will continue to champion the need for suicide awareness.”

We also held successful awareness raising events for Talk to Us, with volunteers at Rushmere Shopping centre and also in Lurgan town centre, with 'Sam the Bear' giving out vouchers for free 'tea and a chat' at the Samaritans shop in the town.

This year, we mark the 40th anniversary of the branch and aim to use this momentous achievement to further raise awareness which will culminate with a Gala Ball held in Craigavon Civic Centre in October.

Karen McIlvenna Director


DerryDerry Branch celebrated two great achievements in July 2014; we had been in the city for 40 years serving all who needed emotional support and someone to listen.

Our Mayor hosted a recognition event in the Guildhall in July where she was very appreciative and encouraging about the work we do. A lot has changed in those 40 years and our volunteers and branch management strive to ensure our service delivery is relevant to those who need it most.

23Branch highlights

Our other great achievement was the publicity generated from our Talk to Us campaign in July 2014. This focuses on encouraging people to talk about any problems or worries they have, in the hope that the problem becomes more manageable and doesn’t become an overwhelming issue in their life.

We managed to get support from local rock legend Johnny McDaid from the band Snow Patrol and his very well-known fiancée, Courteney Cox. Having them support our campaign made a huge impact on the media coverage we got.

Our branch is situated close to the city centre and our doors are open to callers from 10am–10pm, we also offer support by phone, text and email.

Lindsay Johnston Director

FestivalThe North West 200 is a major sporting event in Northern Ireland which the Festival team has been attending for almost 10 years, offering emotional support on the streets of Portrush from 9pm Friday night through to the early hours of Sunday morning. Twenty volunteers attended bringing their sleeping bags, air beds, wellies, several jackets and suntan lotion; ever the optimists. The weather was fairly mixed with spells of rain, sunshine and hailstones. Our home was at the Masonic Hall in Portrush where we prepared our food, slept and planned our weekend on the streets of Portrush.

The publicity surrounding our presence was as excellent as ever with the local Coleraine branch of Samaritans organising a press conference on the Friday afternoon with local radio, press and publicity material around our main site at the seafront put up by our festival volunteers.

Family relationships and depression were the major occurring concerns of our callers throughout the weekend with at least five callers saying that ‘Samaritans saved our lives’. The majority of our callers were male which is a different demographic from that contacting our branches, where the majority are female. Considering that men are three times more likely to take their own lives than females, festival is a great way to engage with those who do not contact our branches in great numbers.

The North West 200 is one of two festivals we attend in Northern Ireland the other being Belfast Pride in August.

We also attend six other festivals in the Republic of Ireland including Dublin Pride, Galway Arts Festival and Matchmakers at Lisdoonvarnagh.

Festival consists of over 65 volunteers drawn from all over Ireland. They are attached to their local branch and do their normal duties but Festival is an extra commitment so that we can reach out to vulnerable people who may not contact us through our branch network.

Sean Higgins Director


NewryAs always this has been a busy year for the branch. It has been especially busy for our fundraising team who continue to come up with imaginative ideas to raise the branch profile in the community as well as raising the money to keep us going. The success of last year’s fashion show encouraged the team put on the show in two more venues and this proved very popular.

We were fortunate to be adopted by Sainsbury’s supermarket as their charity of the year. In the summer several of their staff took part in a sponsored bike ride to raise funds for us. They also sent a team to a local quiz to support us.

As the year of sponsorship draws to a close, we have just received news that we are to receive sponsorship for the next year from Buttercrane shopping centre. We look forward to working with them.

We continue to develop our work within education, two schools supported us by holding a sponsored walk along the tow path. More volunteers have attended the training for schools, enabling us to deliver more talks. We were also privileged to take part in a theatre workshop at a local school given by Smashing Times Theatre Group. This consisted of a presentation on the subject of suicide, given by an actor, followed by questions to a panel that included a Samaritan volunteer. This was very well received by the students and we hope we will have more opportunities to take part.

We have recently been focused on recruitment, and I’m pleased to say that we already have a good number of people awaiting our next initial training course.

Wendy Thomas Director

25Branch highlights

OmaghOmagh branch has had another busy year and our volunteers have again gone the extra mile to deliver our service to the people in our area. As Omagh’s area includes all of Fermanagh and most of Tyrone we have quite a large geographical area to cover for outreach work and many of our seventy volunteers travel round trips of fifty miles or more to carry out their duty in the branch. This can be very challenging especially when you put rural roads and bad weather into the mix.

During 2014 we held over fifty outreach events which included schools, colleges, agricultural shows and football matches. One of our main outreach partnerships is with Action Mental Health at their New Horizons centre in Enniskillen. We attend there twice every month and offer face to face emotional support to the clients. Volunteers who deliver the service at AMH New Horizons say that they have

some very worthwhile calls there and that the service is really appreciated by the clients who use it. We hope to expand this service in the future.

As part of our Talk to Us campaign during July 2014 we were on the streets of Irvinestown during the annual Lady Of The Lake festival. A number of volunteers, using a gazebo and banners, spent the day mixing with the thousands of people attending the festival. They gave out hundreds of leaflets as well as talking to a great number of people to explain our service and how to contact us.

Volunteers also dealt with over twelve thousand calls to the branch during the course of 2014 so all together it was a very busy year again at Omagh branch.

Martin Rutherford Director


BranchesKey: Festivals

Coleraine

BallymenaDerry

Bangor & North Down

Omagh

Sligo

Athlone

Newbridge& Kildare

Kilkenny & Carlow

Tralee & Kerry

Limerick & Tipperary

Ennis & Clare

Cork

Waterford & South East

Drogheda

DublinGalway

Portadown & Craigavon

Newry

East Coast Service (Arklow)

Northwest 200

Strawberry Fayre

Electric Picnic

Dublin Pride

Belfast Pride

Fleadh

Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking

Festival

Dalraida Festival

Belfast

Galway Arts Festival

27Map of branches and festivals

Map of branches and festivals

Someone to talk to – people contact us when things are getting

to them. They don’t have to be suicidal.

We’re always here – round the clock, every single day of the year.

A safe place – as volunteers we’re ordinary people, and keep all

our conversations private.

People can be themselves – whoever they are, however they feel,

whatever life’s done to them.

We’re a charity – it’s the public’s kind donations that help fund

our service.

08457 90 90 90*

[email protected]

samaritans.org

Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales. Founded in 1953 by the late Prebendary Dr Chad Varah CH CBE. A company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales (757372) and a charity registered in England & Wales (219432) and in Scotland (SC040604).

Samaritans Registered Office, The Upper Mill, Kingston Road, Ewell, Surrey KT17 2AF T 020 8394 8300 F 020 8394 8301

* Please see our website for latest call charges.

Ballymena 45 Mount Street, Ballymena BT43 6BP

Bangor 92 Dufferin Avenue, Bangor BT20 3AD

Belfast 5 Wellesley Avenue, Belfast BT9 6DG

Coleraine 20 Lodge Road, Coleraine BT52 1NB

Craigavon 162 Thomas St, Portadown, Craigavon BT62 3BD

Derry 16 Clarendon Street, Londonderry BT48 7ET

Newry 19 Staint Colmans Park, Newry BT34 2BX

Omagh 30 Campsie Crescent, Omagh BT79 0AD

See our website for individual opening hours

Visit us – at any of our branches

Documents

Samaritans NI impact report 2015