Several of our volunteers were overjoyed to welcome David Matthews MBE to our Bognor Regis, Chichester & District branch as he stopped by during his Listening Walk on Wednesday March 4.
The Listening Walk is an incredible fundraising journey undertaken by David, a listening volunteer with Samaritans. His goal is to visit every Samaritans’ branch across the UK and Ireland to raise awareness and funds for the charity and to show support for all Samaritans volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure that fewer people die by suicide. There are over 200 branches, and in total David will walk 6,100 miles to reach them all.
This is the second time David has taken on this challenge for Samaritans. He completed his first listening walk in 2021, raising nearly £30,000. In 2025, he was awarded an MBE for his efforts and commitment to the charity.
Believing there was still more to be done, David set off on his second walk in September 2025 to help raise even more awareness about our listening service.
We are the 80th branch that David has visited during his walk. He set off to meet us after visiting the Worthing Samaritans the day before, walking along the south coast and arriving in Bognor on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. We welcomed him with some well-earned and much-appreciated tea and biscuits, and had a lovely chat with him about his fascinating journey.
David Matthews with volunteers David and Deborah outside the branch
We showed David around the branch and talked about his amazing mission and his motivation behind completing the walk for a second time. He explained that he felt there was still a huge need to raise awareness of Samaritans and its listening service, which provides 24/7 supportive listening to anyone struggling through a difficult time.
We also heard all about how his walk had gone so far. He told us about his trek across Sussex, and he shared some of the conversations he’d had with a few of the people he’d met during his walk, highlighting the huge amount of support he has received from the public. We discussed our common goal of helping our callers and how valuable a simple conversation can be.
While visiting the branch, David said: ‘It’s been a great visit to the Bognor Regis, Chichester & District branch. It’s nice to get the chance to meet fellow volunteers. We’re the same across the network, whether it’s England, Scotland, Ireland, or Wales: we’re all there for the callers, and it’s nice to immerse yourself in that. It’s been a lovely welcome.’
Our Vice Director David Longmore, who was one of the volunteers who greeted David, said: ‘It was really great to meet David today and to welcome him to Bognor Regis Chichester & District Branch. A number of volunteers were on hand to hear of his encounters on his extraordinary walking journey and to share with him a well-deserved cuppa and biscuits. Our congratulations to David on his project and best wishes for the rest of his tour.’
David Matthews with Vice Director David Longmore
If you would like to find out more about David’s Listening walk, you can visit thelisteningwalk.com. There you will find links to his social media accounts, where you can keep up to date with his journey. By the end of his second walk, he will have walked an astounding total of over 12,000 miles for Samaritans. You can also donate to David’s walk here.