Samaritans to close more than 100 branches

The Samaritans plan to close more than 100 branches across the United Kingdom and Ireland, the BBC learned.

In a presentation to the staff, the director general of the suicide prevention organization said that “at least half” of their branches will close.

Dozens of branches have expressed concerns, some fearing that the proposals lead to an exodus of volunteers: “They dismantle something that worked for 70 years,” said a volunteer.

The Samaritans said they had more than 200 branches “is not sustainable and prevents us from providing the best service.

Founded in 1953, the Samaritans focus on prevention of suicides by connecting volunteers trained to people who have trouble.

The charitable organization believes that it responds to a call for help every 10 seconds.

The proposals were revealed in a video message sent by the management of the beneficiaries to volunteers last week.

The general manager Julie Bentley, said that although there was not “a final opinion” on the number of branches that charity needed: “It is likely that in the next seven to 10 years, our network of branches will have reduced at least half.

“With fewer branches, we will try to switch to less but larger regions,” she added.

If the charitable organization council accepts the plans at a meeting in September, the changes begin in April in the United Kingdom and in 2027 in Ireland. The list of branches that could close was not decided.

If the plans go ahead, most users with the Samaritans will be made on the phone so that people are not aware of its branch structure and that the leaders of the charity say that users will not notice a difference.

The Samaritans, considered the fourth emergency service by its staff and its volunteers, play a key role in suicide prevention, offering 24 -hour telephone support for people in distress.

Volunteers who answer calls are based in offices across the country, many of which will now close.

The BBC has been informed that more than 50 branches, more than a quarter of the total, have raised concerns on an internal forum since the announcement of the proposals.

The plans of “virtual volunteering” where people respond to calls from their homes, have aroused fears that volunteers could leave the charity due to the pressures of the management of calls concerning suicide alone.

Others have only decided to help because of being isolated at home.

Volunteers also said they would be uncomfortable with remote work due to the number of abusive and sexual calls received by the charity.

In her message to the staff, Ms. Bentley said that some offices did not retain enough volunteers and “do not support the effective service of our appellants”.

She also expressed her concern about too much income from Samaritans to “maintain bricks and mortars, rather than being used to improve our services”.

But it is the loss of intimacy and the support that the offices provide that worries many volunteers.

They fear that the proposals of the charity will create large impersonal call centers in major cities, which reduces the probability that people in rural areas can volunteer and undergo the sense of being a volunteer from the Samaritans.

In its last accounts, for 2023-24, almost two thirds (15.3 million pounds sterling) of the income of 24.6 million pounds sterling of the charity were spent on the costs of the staff and less than 4% for land and buildings.

“We are not against change,” said a volunteer at the BBC, “but they have provided no evidence that these changes will improve the charity. It looks more like the professionalization of Samaritans.”

The proposals, if they were promulgated, would also see the charity withdraw from certain current activities, including talks in schools and the supply of the emotional support line for veterans.

In a statement to BBC News, the Samaritans have stressed that their services would continue to be available every minute of every day, so that people should always be able to contact them.

“Samaritans provide a rescue service, day and night, 365 days a year, but the changing needs of our appellants and volunteers mean thinking differently the way our services must work,” said Bentley.

“We are committed to our volunteers on the proposed improvements which will mean that we are able to answer more calls, to have more volunteers in service and to be there for more people in their darkest moments.

“Samaritan volunteers are extremely dedicated to being there for our appellants and they remain at the heart of our service, but it has become more and more clear than more than 200 branches, varying in size of 10 to 300 volunteers, is not durable and prevents us from providing the best possible service to people who need us,” she added.