Our strategic principles

We will break down barriers to make Samaritans more diverse and inclusive, both through our people, but also in who we connect with and support, making sure that we are responding to people’s needs in a way that is relevant and meaningful to them and their circumstances. This year we:

• delivered mandatory EDI learning to volunteer leaders and all staff. All volunteers will have received this learning by the end of 2025
• expanded our EDI networks and hosted roundtables for staff and volunteers with lived experience of suicidal feelings, self-harm or bereavement by suicide, including carers, parents, neurodiverse people and those experiencing menopause
• increased our number of branch EDI leads to more than 100 and, with them, helped branches to increase their reach and representation locally
• deployed our EDI Specialist Panel across key projects – eg, our Volunteer Leadership Development Project and Quality Outcomes Framework – to help embed inclusive thinking into planning and delivery
• ran focus groups with over 100 people in prison who identified as trans, foreign nationals or neurodivergent, and used their insights to develop new easy read materials to help widen access to our Listener service.

We will ensure the voice of people with experience of suicidal feelings, suicide attempts, self-harm, or bereavement by suicide is central to and shapes all our services, products, campaigns and activities. This year we:

• recruited two people with lived experience to our Service and Quality Committee to help ensure our policies and services reflect real-life impact
• set up a Scottish Lived Experience Advisory Group to shape our work in Scotland and ensure lived experience is meaningfully represented at a national level. Their input improved our World Suicide Prevention Day campaign and are shaping our policy priorities ahead of the 2026 Scottish election
• grew our UK-wide Lived Experience Panel to 671 members, who shared feedback through 12 online surveys to shape campaigns, media work and policy – such as our strategy review and Small Talk Saves Lives campaign
• embedded lived experience into our strategy review, with panel members and consultants with lived experience contributing to the next phase of the charity’s roadmap
• started developing a Lived Experience Plan to help us further embed our lived experience principle in our work.

We will ensure a safe, effective and positive experience for all those who come into contact with our services. We will continue to focus on safety and quality, including safeguarding children and adults at risk of harm who seek support from us. We will always look to exceed the expectations of people we support. This year we:

• completed 60 quality reviews of branches across the UK and Ireland, assessing service standards and identifying opportunities for improvement
• recruited five new Quality Mentors from Samaritans volunteers, to help guide and support branches through the review process
• updated our Quality Outcomes Framework, a self-assessment tool used by branch leaders to reflect on their service and identify areas for improvement
• collected and responded to caller feedback, to help improve our service
• introduced a dedicated complaints number in Ireland, ensuring all callers have the opportunity to share feedback or concerns
• updated our Operating Agreement, which sets out how branches and hubs work within Samaritans, helping ensure consistent, safe and high quality support across our network.

We will use research, evidence, insight and data to inform all our services, activities and digital offerings. Where evidence is not available or clear, we will look to work with partners to fill those gaps.

This year we:

• completed and published our first national caller research study in Ireland, gathering insights from 586 participants to improve service access, especially for underserved and first-time callers
• delivered a full evaluation of our online chat pilot, using mixed methods and peer research to capture both the emotional and practical experience of service users and volunteers
• co-produced and launched our Paid Yesterday, Broke Today report on the link between insecure work and suicide risk in Scotland, with strong engagement from MSPs and sector partners
• conducted in-depth research in London prisons, highlighting the role of stigma, masculine norms and social isolation in help-seeking behaviours, and identifying ways to strengthen wellbeing
• produced targeted evidence summaries on self-harm and suicide among transgender people and those with neurodevelopmental disorders in prison, supporting a more inclusive approach
• published our Self-Harm in Prisons report, strengthening the evidence base for peer support in custody.

We will never shy away from raising our voice and campaigning on issues that matter to us, particularly those that directly or indirectly impact people’s risk of suicide, such as inequality, deprivation, prejudice and unfair treatment. This year we:

• capitalised on the opportunities associated with being Charity of the Year for the TCS London Marathon, using this platform to break down stigma associated with suicide. We achieved over 1,650 pieces of media coverage including many in-depth features with #TeamSamaritans runners
• reached 37 per cent of UK adults with our Believe in Tomorrow campaign
• drove a 23 per cent increase in social media engagement, while continuing to grow our following
• spoke out to condemn racial and religious violence during the riots that started in August 2024
• were a leading voice in media stories in response to the ONS data reporting that suicide rates in England and Wales had reached the highest level since 1999
• published an opinion piece in the Big Issue about the mental health impact of debt and cost of living
• we carefully reviewed our presence on the social media platform X. For now, the central charity will remain as a voice of hope, while branches are supported to explore alternative platforms. This will be kept under review.

We will encourage innovation and keep pace with developments, so that we can offer up-to-date and responsive services to the people who contact us, 24 hours a day, and the most effective platforms for our people. This year we:

• rolled out new digital broadband and phone services to all UK branches, including our new Listening Centre platform, to replace outdated telephony systems and prepare for the national switch-off of analogue lines, futureproofing our infrastructure for phone, online chat and the Welsh Language Line
• ensured the Listening Centre platform is more reliable, easier to use and better integrated with our systems, supporting consistent service quality.

We will build a sustainable approach as we embrace hybrid working and volunteering and develop a better understanding of our energy footprint. This year we:

• procured a new electricity contract supplying 100 per cent renewable energy to around 60 charity properties
• committed to sourcing green energy as part of our long-term sustainability plan
• appointed an Environmental Consultant to lead our work on compliance and reporting
• completed our second annual Energy and Carbon Report (SECR) submission, capturing all energy use across our central charity and UK properties
• qualified for phase 3 of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme and submitted our first report to the Environment Agency
• developed an environmental roadmap and drafted a new Environmental Policy Statement to guide our future sustainability work.