Frequently Asked
Questions
Samaritans come from all walks of life and don’t
need any formal qualifications. Personal qualities of acceptance,
compassion and an ability to listen without judging or giving advice are
far more important.
I'm 18, is that ok ?
Yes - 18 is the minimum age for becoming a Samaritan volunteer and you
certainly won't be alone in the Branch. More important than age is your
personal qualities and emotional maturity. If you think that you have
what it takes please come and find out more.
I've had a bit of trouble myself, will
you still accept me ?
Your own experience may have increased your sympathy and compassion –
but it may have left you a little too vulnerable to take on other people’s
troubles. It depends on how you coped with your problems, and what they
did to you. We give volunteers their privacy but one of the qualities
that we look for in them is to be comfortable in talking about their own
emotional issues. It is best to talk to us about these things and we can
help you to understand if the time is right for you to volunteer.
Isn’t Samaritans a religious organisation?
Samaritans was founded in 1954 by Chad Varah, who was indeed a Christian
minister in London. However, Samaritans today is not associated with any
religious organisation. Volunteers nowadays come from every faith and
none.
Are there any jobs that stop me from becoming
a volunteer ?
We regret that we do not accept serving Police Officers, nor Special Constables
owing to conflict of interest. Apart from this special case there are
no restrictions.
Do you accept everyone who applies to join?
No – it may be that your talents are not appropriate to Samaritans,
or the timing is not right for you at present - see the next question.
If I apply to be a volunteer, what happens
next?
For most people the first step in volunteering is to come to an information
evening. This is an opportunity to meet several Samaritans volunteers
and to hear first hand about our work. You can ask questions of your own
and afterwards in your own time, you can decide if you want to apply.
You will have been given an application form at the information evening.
You should return it after which you will be invited to a selection workshop.
At the workshop you will take part in some group discussions and also
you will be asked some questions about yourself on a one-to-one basis.
Its all very friendly, as we do specialise in being nice to talk to!
You will receive a letter shortly after the selection workshop which
will indicate if you have been accepted for Initial Training. If you haven't
been selected inevitably you'll be disappointed. We ask you to bear in
mind that during the selection process several different experienced Samaritans
volunteers will have met you. They understand the work well and will have
everyone's interests at heart, including your own, when they arrive at
their decision.
How much time would I have to commit?
Listening volunteers give a commitment to perform one duty per week, lasting
about 3 hours, and an 8 hour night duty every month. In addition, there
is an expectation that volunteers will attend a few hours training every
year. If you have the time and the inclination, there are many additional
opportunities to get involved, from committee work to fundraising, from
maintenance and cleaning to assisting with recruitment and selection.
However, these are all secondary to your commitment to perform your weekly
duty on the telephone.
Doesn’t being a Samaritan make you
depressed?
It’s true that some of the calls we receive can make us sad, anxious,
even angry and frustrated. We need to be able to deal with these feelings,
and there is a wealth of emotional support for volunteers. We never do
a duty alone. There are always at least two Samaritans on duty at any
time, who, in addition to taking calls, can provide each other with support.
We also have a well defined system of routine support which addresses
our emotional well-being proactively so that we don't wait until we get
stressed before we receive support. Indeed, through this pro-active approach
we hope never to get too stressed, but it has to be said that we are at
times going to feel personally touched in some way by the nature of the
work that we do.
As to being depressed, well we can never get away from the fact that
we are dealing with serious issues but if that means that we go around
with a miserable look on our faces talking in whispers all the time then
you might be in for a surprise!
Supposing a caller has a problem I can’t
solve?
When someone tells us they have a problem, we can feel that it would be
good to try to come up with a nice, neat, pre-packaged solution for them.
As Samaritans, however, we have to realise that life is never that simple,
and what seems like the perfect solution to us may in fact be completely
wrong for our caller. Therefore we avoid giving advice and telling people
what they should do, but instead offer a non-judgemental ear for them
to offload their feelings about their situation. Often the mere telling
of their story suggests solutions to the caller themselves. If not, then
it almost always helps just to be able to talk to someone – they
may never have been able to confide in anyone before.
Doesn't it takes years to train to be a
counsellor?
Yes it does but we are not counsellors. Samaritans volunteers are trained
listeners who are able to help a person to talk about their emotions and
feelings. We are equipped to ask about suicidal feelings, something we
are trained to do at every contact with an individual, and just as importantly
we know how to handle the answer.
Our training is delivered to a professional standard and we have professional
input to our methods including the support of consultant psychiatrists,
but we don't counsel people nor give them advice. We prefer to help a
caller to our service to work out their own options.
Do you screen volunteers ?
As a Samaritan volunteer, you will be working with vulnerable adults or
children. So, in common with a number of other voluntary organisations,
we ask for a Disclosure - a document containing information held by the
police and government departments - to help us to make safer recruitment
decisions. We provide prospective volunteers with further guidance, and
the necessary form, during our selection process.
Having a criminal record is not an automatic bar to becoming a Samaritan
volunteer, and ex-offenders retain the protection afforded by the Rehabilitation
of Offenders Act 1974. But we will be unable to allow you to work with
us unless you do apply for a criminal record check.
|
