Samaritans (3/4) By Michelle Dee

(1/4), (2/4), (3/4), (4/4).

Various volunteers are involved in the selection/training teams that teach certain prisoners the skills needed to help their fellow inmates. As well as the listener service provided by the prisoners for the prisoners in the same way it is provided for the wider community by the volunteers, there are other programs to try to reduce the number of suicides in Her Majesty's Prisons.

Sessions inside prisons often take the form of regular discussion groups organized and run by the prisoners themselves once the necessary skills and techniques have been passed on to them. This approach, as well as a well thought out medical program with access to trained specialists, is beginning to prove an effective way to reduce the incidents of self- harm and suicide within the imprisoned community.

Samaritans regularly have stalls and stands at local fetes, as well as a charity shop just off Prospect Street in the city centre. They also have a float in the Lord Mayor's Parade to advertise the service and raise funds to enable them to keep helping those in need. They have a stall planned at Cottingham and Combined Charities event to be held on the 10th May at the annual Spring Fair.

Through recent campaigns they have managed to attract twenty more volunteers this year so far, using Martins' contacts within the community.

The Beehive website and C.V.S. have both been involved in achieving this intake of volunteers, who are now going through the training in order to become listeners. There is another recruitment campaign due to commence through June, July and August with the training to start again in September. The training pack covers issues regarding confidentiality, caller/listener interaction, accountability and safe working procedures. Samaritans are not a counselling service neither are they a referral service. They cannot give out advice, if they did so they could then be made accountable if a caller's subsequent action did not yield a positive result. They avoid giving advice by exploring and focussing on the emotional state of the caller rather than events or incidents. This said, it is important to state that the caller is in charge at all times and can choose to talk about what they wish, or in some cases not to talk.

There are times during certain calls where nothing is said between the two for some time. This can allow the caller just to breathe and try to organise the thoughts and feelings whirling around their head. The listener is there on the line, waiting for them to start talking again, when they are ready to do so. In order not to advise callers, guidelines are in place to help listeners to respond in a uniform way to each caller. The use of paraphrasing the caller's words helps to show a genuine understanding in the moment of crisis.

It allows the caller to explore for themselves possible courses of action if need be. Again, it is important to re-iterate to the caller that whatever choices they make, they are always made of their own volition.

In some cases a caller just needs the chance to talk to someone about a particular situation, once they have voiced their concerns it can appear to all fall in to place for them; the listener may come away not having said very much. All the calls are different because everybody is an individual, but it is vital for a service like this to ensure consistency, not only locally but at a national level also. Occasionally a Samaritan may have to talk face to face with a contact; many branches offer a drop in service.

The volunteers work in shifts and are assigned a duty partner. Often they will work together for many years. Over time a special relationship is built with your duty partner. He or she is the one you talk to after you have had a particularly harrowing call. Inside the control room are single booths. Calls are taken in these booths then afterwards the listener comes out and, if they need to, shares some of the feelings they may be experiencing.

Continued ...next page(4/4),

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