Dawn Walk Facebook Community

In our dedicated Dawn Walk Facebook group you'll see regular updates, you can share your photo's and belong to our supportive and interactive community.

These guidelines were last updated in June 2021.

Welcome to #TeamSamaritans! Together we’ve created some guidelines for interacting in our Facebook challenge communities, to make sure everyone feels safe to share and connect in the group.

Posting in the group

Keep on topic

The communities are here to support you through your challenge with fundraising, training, staying motivated and making the most of your event while fundraising for Samaritans.

Samaritans can’t offer emotional support within the groups, but if you would like to talk about how you are feeling, you can contact a Samaritan at anytime.

We ask that you only share fundraisers for Samaritans in the group.

Sales and advertising posts are not allowed. This includes posts, replies in comments, adding or messaging people from the group for 'lead gen/networking', or any activity in the group connected to business activity.

Be mindful of what you post

Sharing your stories and motivations for taking part can be powerful and help to create connections with others, but it could also be difficult for others to read when they’re feeling more sensitive.

Consider using a content notice or trigger warning if you’re sharing a story that discusses an emotive topic or subject, like so:

CN: loss of a family member to suicide

Please avoid content in your posts that discusses:

• Suicide methods, locations
• Self harm methods or graphic descriptions
• Weights, body image, BMI, calories, portion sizes, etc. (screenshots from Strava/fitness trackers are okay as long as the main post content isn't focused on calories burned etc.)
• Graphic descriptions of violence, abuse, sexual assault, hate crimes etc.
• Photos of injuries or medical procedures where this is the focus of the post (e.g. a photo where you're wearing a bandage but the content is focused on the challenge is okay; a post focused on an injury or self harm is not okay)

We will decline posts or remove comments that contain this type of content for the safety of everyone in the group. We may also decline posts where we expect the conversation and comments could head in this direction, in order to reduce out of hours moderation pressure on admin. We will always try to let you know why your post has been removed when this happens, and often suggest ways your post could be adapted to work within the boundaries to be accessible to all.

Read how to talk about suicide safely online

Read what to do if you see worrying content online

What to do if you notice someone struggling

Sadly we're unable to provide emotional support in the group. If you notice a post that worries you, please tag an admin in comments or report the post through Facebook.

Take care of yourself

The groups are a positive space to support and connect with each other through the challenge, but it can still be difficult to read stories and experiences of suicide and mental health. Participate as much you feel comfortable, and it’s okay to take a break from the group if you need to, or change your notification settings.

Remember - Facebook is a 'public' online space

The Challenge groups can grow to many thousands of members, so please treat them like a public space, and only post things you would be comfortable sharing with the wider world. Please don't share things like email addresses or other sensitive personal information that could be a security risk.

Connecting in the group

Assume the best intentions

It can be hard to interpret the tone of someone’s comment online sometimes – if you’re concerned that someone is being negative, ask them to explain clearly what they mean to rule out misunderstandings.

If you still feel uncomfortable with a comment, you can tag an admin and we’ll take a look as soon as possible and follow up with you.

Ask before sending friend requests and direct messages

The community is a great place to meet others with shared experiences and motivation. Before sending a friend request or direct message to another member, ask them if they’re happy to receive one in the group. If you receive a direct message that makes you feel uncomfortable, reach out to an admin and we will look into it.

Always ask admin to resolve conflicts

We're here to keep the space positive and safe for everyone. If you receive a comment or message that makes you uncomfortable, tag us or report the post through Facebook, or direct message an admin. You can also use the 'block' and 'ignore' features within Facebook while you're waiting for us to resolve an issue.

Moderation

When we moderate

Our team will be moderating between 9am-5pm during weekdays and popping into the group occasionally out of hours and on weekends.

How to reach us

We’ll be out and about in the group to cheer you all on, but if you feel something needs urgent attention you can tag an admin in the comments and we’ll respond as soon as we can. You can also report the content through Facebook's own report feature.

How we deal with hate speech and discrimination

Everyone should feel welcome and able to participate in the #TeamSamaritans communities without fear of discrimination. We do not tolerate hate speech, discriminatory or prejudiced comments within the groups. This includes:

• Racism
• Sexism
• Classism
• Ableism
• Homophobia, biphobia, transphobia or any LGBTQIA+-phobia
• Or any other negative comments towards a marginalized person, identity, characteristic or community.

If you see a comment along these lines, please tag one of the admins and we will usually take the following steps:

• Delete the comment from the group.
• In the first instance, give a warning to the person who made the comment and explain why it is inappropriate.
• If the behavior continues, remove the person from the Facebook group.
• If a comment was a personal attack, we will reach out to the person affected and let them know the action we’ve taken, and offer support if needed.

If the comment was deemed to be a personal or intentional attack, we may remove the person from the group immediately.

We will always try to give feedback on why we've removed posts or people from the group.