Have you ever thought about becoming a Samaritan?
Whatever your interest in being a Samaritan we may have a role for you. There are many different ways you could help with running our branch. You may be thinking of becoming a listening volunteer, but there are other things you can do to support us. Support Volunteers can help us with administration, fundraising, helping with our shop, IT support and building maintenance for example.
Why volunteer with us?
We are always looking for more volunteers and there are many reasons to volunteer with us.
- Making new friends.
- Helping others.
- Developing skills.
Becoming a Listening Volunteer at Chesterfield
The journey to becoming a Samaritan begins with an online application made after spending time learning all about Samaritans on the national website. (You can link to the national website here). You will then be invited to book an interview, held either in person at our branch on Saltergate, or online over Zoom. This is an opportunity for us to get to know you and for you to find out if the role is right for you. Following a successful interview, you will be invited onto our training and development programme which takes place over several months. You can read more about this below. We normally run our training programme once or twice per year.
We have recently received a high number of applications and are working through our waiting list. We have decided not to accept new applications for the time being. We apologise for any disappointment this may bring and encourage you to check back regularly for updates on our recruitment activities.
Our Training Programme
Our Training programme starts with Core Development - a mix of trainer–led group sessions delivered online or at our branch and online modules to complete at home.
Starting shifts as a Listener
After successfully completing Core Development new volunteers start shifts under the guidance of a mentor who supports them through their first caller contacts. Once mentoring is completed the new volunteer becomes a Probationer and can then sign on for regular shifts with any experienced Samaritan.
During the mentoring and probationary period the new volunteer completes further training, called Embedding Development, again comprising of trainer–led group sessions and online modules to complete in your own time.
Once the new volunteer has successfully completed Core Development, Embedding Development, Mentoring, and Probation they become a full Samaritan. All full Samaritans are required to undertake a few hours of Continuous Development every year.
Rota System
Our volunteers are offering the branch the gift of their time for our callers. We recognise that people have many other demands on their time so we make the rota system flexible and as easy as possible to sign up. There are listening shifts of varying lengths each day of the week. Volunteers can sign up online to do shifts at the times that work best for them. Volunteers are expected to contribute a minimum of 14 hours per month, but we fully understand that this may not be possible all of the time and are happy to discuss your individual circumstances.
Heavy demands are made on our service in the late evening and overnight. For this reason every volunteer is asked to do one late evening shift OR one overnight shift as part of their monthly contribution. Again, we appreciate that not every Samaritan will be able to meet this expectation and are happy to discuss this with you.