“So many people have shared their experiences of lowest ebbs, times when they thought they would never be happy again but their lives have changed because somebody, somewhere listened”, David Matthews
Samaritans volunteer, David Matthews popped into Samaritans of Farnborough & District branch for a chat and a cuppa, as part of his two year and 6,000 mile Odyssey to visit every one of the 201 Samaritans branches across the UK and Ireland, to raise funds and awareness for Samaritans, and to profile mental health issues.
After two lockdowns and several Tier changes, he started walking again in December 2020 and it was a privilege to finally meet him at Farnborough branch in April. He was met by a number of volunteers at Guildford station, who kept him company on the long walk to Farnborough, where he was welcomed by branch Director Sally, and a handful of volunteers.
“Samaritans of Farnborough & District have remained open throughout the pandemic and although we have had to suspend our face to face service, we have been available on the phones and via email to support our community during the lockdowns. It costs £5 to answer a call for help. Every day Samaritans respond to around 10,000 calls for help from people in crisis”. Sally, Branch Director, Samaritans of Farnborough & District.
Please follow David’s journey via The Listening Walk on Facebook and @WalkListening on Twitter.
If you are going through a tough time and need to talk to someone, Samaritans volunteers are available 24 /7, 365 days a year.
Call free on 116 123 or email [email protected].
To find out more about Samaritans of Farnborough & District please have a look at our Website
https://www.samaritans.org/branches/farnborough/.
Follow the conversation on Twitter @SamsFarnborough.
Carolyn Publicity and Awareness Volunteer, Samaritans of Farnborough & District