Our Outreach Team were at Banbury Station for the launch of Samaritans' Small Talk Saves Lives.
The national campaign launched on 21st February and runs until 12 March and knowing how successful the campaign has been in recent years, our team of Banbury & District volunteers were keen to be involved again from day one. They were up bright and early to meet commuters and rail staff entering and leaving the station and encouraging them to trust their instincts if they see someone who they think might need help. They gave out over 1,000 message cards explaining how a simple question like “where can I get a coffee?” could be all it takes to interrupt someone's suicidal thoughts.
The support received from everyone at the station whether they were staff, travellers or taxi drivers from the cab rank outside was amazing with some commenting that they had actually put the campaign message into practice having heard about it before. Despite the cold fingers and toes every one of our volunteers said they'd be back.
