Yeovil Samaritans is marking ‘Talk to Us’ day on the 24th July (24/7) with a poem written by one of its listening volunteers, Geoff Urch in collaboration with fellow Samaritan Des Reaney;
TALK TO US
When you feel sad or anxious and think “if only?”
When tears start to flow and your heart feels lonely.
When you bury thoughts and hide from view
Or feel like an imposter that’s not the real you.
When you believe no one cares and you’ve been forgotten,
And you feel like screaming as you hit rock bottom.
When you’re confused, adrift, forlorn or alone,
We’ll be your anchor, your haven, a voice on the phone.
We won’t judge and we’ll respect your view,
We’ll share thoughts and listen to what life’s done to you.
We’re here when you need us, to offer support and hope,
To give encouragement and help you to cope.
When life gets too difficult talk to us,
We care.
Talk to Us Day, which is a national Samaritans initiative is one of the most important days in the Samaritans’ organisation’s charity calendar. Geoff’s poem is designed to help spread the message that volunteers are available to listen to anyone who is struggling – day or night, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Samaritans has continued to provide emotional support throughout the Covid-19 pandemic at a time when listening to others has never been more important.
Since lockdown in March, Samaritans volunteers suggest that one in three callers talk about coronavirus with many people feeling more anxious and distressed than before the pandemic. Volunteer surveys which gathered over 3,000 responses, also found the most common concerns related to coronavirus are around loneliness, isolation, mental health and illness, family, finances and unemployment.
Geoff commented: “Our volunteers have been working day and night to be there for anyone who is struggling in these uncertain and challenging times. Lockdown restrictions have had a huge impact on everyday life for many people, as we’ve been hearing over the past few months, and our volunteers have been a much-needed source of support for those whose networks haven’t been available during the pandemic.
Lockdown has also restricted us as Samaritans. We’ve been unable to get out into the community with our outreach work and we’ve not been able to accept any callers into our Branch for some months now. But despite this, we’re still offering our core support service – accepting telephone calls and emails. We hope that this poem. Talk to Us, will help to spread the message that we’re very much here for those who need us.’
Anyone can contact Samaritans for free any time from any phone on 116 123, even a mobile without credit, or they can email [email protected].