Samaritans Volunteers Prepare For Around 10,000 Calls On Christmas Day

Samaritans Volunteers Prepare For Around 10,000 Calls On Christmas Day

Christmas time can be a difficult time for many. If there’s ever a time when people can feel most alone, it’s Christmas.
Our volunteers will be there this Christmas to make sure those struggling to cope have someone to talk to. pic.twitter.com/bmFglXkbYb

— Samaritans (@samaritans) December 23, 2017

Last year the service answered 230,000 calls between December 18 and January 1. They respond to more than 5.7 million calls over the course of a year.

The charity said that they expect the key issues for those suffering over Christmas to include mental health problems, isolation and loneliness, relationships, as well as drug and alcohol misuse.

Ann McLaughlin, a branch director for the Samaritans in Ealing, London, looks after 150 volunteers.

She said: “I gather there’s a lot of distress in many households … because people are stuck together in the same room, tanked up on beer, stuffed with food and they don’t really like each other.”

Diana Lau, who works with homeless people for Crisis as part of her Samaritans work, said she “wouldn’t feel right” without volunteering over Christmas.

“We’re there for people who are going through tough times, we’re there for anyone who might be feeling really low and want someone to talk to” Find out what happened when Samaritans volunteer Rachael met @UNILADt.co/1xdFZOmTYX

— Samaritans (@samaritans) December 21, 2017

She said: “This is doing something, maybe taking me out of my comfort zone a little bit, but it’s something I can do to just give a little bit of myself.”

Dave Hall, a 34-year-old web designer, is due to work an overnight shift this Christmas.

He said: “Night shifts are always some of the hardest shifts, but also some of the most rewarding shifts because people who are calling at four in the morning generally have some pretty real problems that they want to talk about.

“It isn’t a happy time for everyone, it’s not always been a happy time for me.”

The Samaritans can be contacted any time for free on 116 123.

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