Mental health charity says it plans to move volunteers into larger regional hubs and pilot remote call handling
Samaritans has announced plans to close at least half of its 200 branches across the UK and Ireland, move volunteers into larger regional hubs and pilot remote call handling, in a shake-up that has left some volunteers dismayed.
The mental health charity told volunteers in a video last week it hoped “within the next seven to 10 years, our branch network will have reduced by at least half” and that it would move to “fewer but bigger regions”.
The charity’s 22,000 listening volunteers answer calls and messages from people in mental health crisis at 201 branches across the UK and Ireland. It says its helplines receive a call every 10 seconds, while some branches also offer face-to-face services.
Julie Bentley, the charity’s chief executive, told volunteers that much of its fundraising income was going into “maintaining bricks and mortar, rather than being used to improve our services”.
