My commitment . . .
. . . commitment to me means ‘doing what you say you will do' - it is as simple as that, but it is one of the most important aspects of being a Samaritan.
As a Samaritan my commitment is:
- to do one shift a week (this will usually be about 3 hours)
- one overnight shift, of no more than 5 hours, each month - despite feeling grim in the morning!
- to supporting your shift partner during the shift and waiting for them at the end, so that no-one leaves the branch on their own
- to undertake 5 hours ongoing training each year
- to sharing the other tasks in the branch, so that the burden of responsibility does not always fall on the same shoulders
All these things are necessary as every member of the branch is a volunteer.
When on shift it is essential that your commitment extends to handling calls in the Samaritan way - supporting callers through feelings of despair and suicide in a warm, empathic, non-judgmental way – not giving advice or information, not referring them to other agencies, not divulging personal information. The call is about the caller and the caller’s needs at that moment in time.
This commitment to being a Samaritan volunteer has incalculable benefits; like the privilege of sharing a caller’s story, the opportunity to work with an interesting and diverse group of people who can become close friends, learning new skills and the chance to gain confidence in your own abilities. The more effort you put into being a Samaritan volunteer, the more you will get out of it.