Mayor shows support for Stratford Samaritans in anniversary year

Stratford Mayor Cllr Tony Jackson showed his support for Stratford Samaritans last week as the branch prepares to mark its 30 anniversary.

When Stratford Samaritans first begun in October 1990 it was located in the old hospital, before moving to Shakespeare Street and finally into its current premises at the Tyler House Community Hub in May 2016.

More than 100 listening volunteers currently answer around 1,500 calls and 300 emails per month in Stratford.

Ten new volunteers are set to start their initial training this month, including the 700 volunteer trained in Stratford.

Cllr Tony Jackson, who has committed to highlighting the work done by volunteer groups in his mayoral year, said: “Tyler House has proven an excellent resource since funded by the Town Trust as part of the Community Challenge. The Samaritans have always been the primary occupiers of the building and it was a pleasure to meet Phil Cazaley, chair of trustees and director at Stratford Samaritans, who has been instrumental in ensuring that the facilities have been such a success.

“My guided tour was really interesting and gave me a much greater understanding of the excellent work of the dedicated volunteers who provide such a valuable service.”

Mr Cazaley added: “Volunteering as a Samaritan is necessarily a big commitment. The selection process is rigorous as all Samaritans have to be empathetic, non-judgemental and able to listen in confidence. The initial training takes 6-8 weeks to prepare volunteers for taking their first call.

“Potential volunteers have to be able to commit to 3-4 listening shifts (each of 4 hours) per month which will include night shifts as the Samaritan service is available 24/7. It can be emotionally draining too as callers are generally in distress, despair, often suicidal.

“With lots of interest locally, great recruitment and training teams and first class facilities we are confident we can continue to increase volunteer numbers.”

To volunteer or donate to Stratford Samaritans visit stratfordsamaritans.org.uk or if you need to talk to the Samaritans, call 116123.