This Volunteers’ Week, we’re shining a light on newly appointed Regional Director for Scotland, Wilma Goodlad, who has been volunteering with Samaritans for nearly a decade.
In 2024, more than 900 people across Scotland volunteered their time with Samaritans. Together, they spent more than 34,500 hours responding to over 115,000 calls for help. These are the people who are there, day or night, to offer a listening ear when others feel they have no one to turn to.
This Volunteers’ Week, Monday 2nd – Sunday 8th June, we’re shining a light on Shetland-based Wilma Goodlad, Samaritans’ newly appointed Regional Director for Scotland and former branch director of Shetland Samaritans. We spoke to Wilma about her 9 years of volunteering with Samaritans in Shetland and the different challenges and rewards that volunteering as part of an island community brings, her vision for her new role as Regional Director, and the true power of human connection.
Wilma first began her volunteering journey with Samaritans almost a decade ago, after discovering her local Samaritans branch in Shetland was on the lookout for more listening volunteers.
For volunteers like Wilma, the sense of being there for people who feel they have nowhere to turn has been a strong motivator in dedicating nearly ten years to being a Samaritans volunteer. Being able to be the person that someone needs has shown first-hand how powerful connecting with others and simply offering a listening ear is, both towards service-users and as part of a team of volunteers.
“I applied to become a Samaritan because I wanted to help people, but at that time, I did not fully grasp just how important and life changing the power of human connection can be.
“Some callers let you know that Samaritans lets them feel safe and not judged. It’s a privilege to be told that you are part of that feeling of safety for them.
“The team around us is an incredible force for good. Working as a team is essential, you feel motivated by those around you. The power of teamwork and human connection keep me going on this journey – volunteering is at the heart of my home community and beyond. That’s something worth celebrating!”
The Shetland branch is small but mighty, with the team getting involved in a variety of different activities and engaging with many different people, groups, and organisations across Shetland and the rest of Scotland. Most recently, the team raised an incredible total of £1,100 at a Sunday Teas event in early May with the support of the Shetland community.
As well as being involved in the listening service, Wilma has worked hard to connect with schools and young people, an area particularly close to her heart as a former primary teacher. Despite the challenges of the Covid19 pandemic, Wilma and the team ensured they could still be there for pupils across the Shetland Islands.
“My own branch has a longstanding involvement with secondary schools. It was no time before talking to young people and their teachers about emotional health and how Samaritans could help that I saw where we could really make a difference.
“I felt strongly about developing our work here, and during Covid-19 our work in schools grew despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. Although physically visiting schools wasn’t permitted, we were still able to extend our reach to outer islands schools through technology. This change in practice has been really useful in terms of developing our work and our ability to support island communities.”
As Regional Director, Wilma will be utilising her nine years of experience with Samaritans to support and oversee the work of the 19 Samaritans Scotland branches and Correspondence branch, and to build and expand relationships both within the charity and externally with other organisations and stakeholders across Scotland.
Speaking about her goals and ambitions for Samaritans Scotland going forward, Wilma talked about communication, cooperation, and innovation as three key pillars that will guide her work and the charity’s vision of seeing fewer deaths by suicide in Scotland.
“Communication is key and will be one of my priorities in my new role as Regional Director. Geographically we are large, with 19 physical branches from Selkirk to Shetland. In Scotland, we work with staff in the West Highland Project, who seek ways to support remote workers, and a dedicated team in Edinburgh.
“Although seas and mountains separate us by hundreds of miles, there’s enthusiasm to network and support each other on this journey. On Burns’ Day this year, just before I was appointed Regional Director, Samaritans Scotland launched the beautiful, ‘Samaritartan’. This embodies the concept of how individual threads woven together produce a strong and dynamic fabric and reflects the commitment of our superb volunteers.”