Samaritans mark 50 years of listening in Lancaster district – and are busier than ever

To mark the milestone, the branch combined its annual meeting with a special celebration attended by the Mayor of Lancaster, Coun Joyce Pritchard.

Retiring director Tracy Duffy took the opportunity to officially hand over to new director Chris Ingham, and said: "This year has seen our branch emerge from the pandemic and continue our important work.

"It’s been a year of rebuilding, particularly in our outreach activities. We have once again been out and about giving talks, raising awareness of the service, and recruiting more volunteers.

“Our work at HMP Lancaster Farms has restarted with our team back selecting and training new listeners.

"Our education team is once more promoting our service in schools, colleges, and universities, while other teams have been out working with local organisations such as Lancaster Race Series and Lancaster on Ice, to build awareness amongst both potential service users and volunteers for our shop and listening service.”

Chris Hough leads the local prison support, as well as volunteering for regular listening shifts in the organisation’s Sun Steet base.

“I planned the start of my retirement to coincide with the completion of my training as a Samaritan," he said. "I thought this would enable me to hit the ground running.

"Wow – I haven’t stopped running since! My listening shifts have become one of the most important parts of my week, and my work with the Branch Prison Support continues to be humbling and deeply rewarding in equal measure.

"I have never been part of such a joyous, kind, and inclusive ‘family’. Thank you, Samaritans, for being there both for our callers and for me.”

Over the next few weeks, locals will spot many of the shops in the Lancaster turning green in support of the branch, and volunteers are hoping to see both the Ashton Memorial and the town hall clock joining in with the theme.

In early 2023, more volunteers will be running information events in Lancaster library, in Morecambe, Halton and further along the Lune Valley.

These informal sessions are aimed to give those interested in becoming Samaritans the opportunity to learn more about what is involved, and how listeners are trained and supported.

The Listening Team at Lancaster are a diverse crowd, from students to those in their 80s and 90s.

Volunteers travel to the centre from north of the Lakes to the Yorkshire Dales. There are shifts at a time to suit everyone, throughout the day and night, seven days a week.

The Samaritans website (Samaritans.org) is also a great source of information and contains the forms to submit for people interested in getting involved.