Samaritans to close more than 100 branches

BBC plans to close more than 100 branches in Samaritans in England and Ireland.

In the presentation to the personnel, the general manager of the suicide prevention aid organization, the “at least half of the branches will be closed, he said.

A volunteer expressed dozens of branch concerns, some of them fear that suggestions will lead to a box office migration: “They are removing something that has been working for 70 years.”

Samaritans said that having more than 200 branches is not “sustainable and prevented us”.

Founded in 1953, Samaritans focuses on preventing suicides by combining educated volunteers with struggling.

Philanthropy predicts that he responds to a call for help every 10 seconds.

The proposals were announced in a video message sent by the leadership of the charity to volunteers last week.

Although Julie Bentley, Chairman of the Executive Officer, is not a “definitive view” about how many branches of the charity, it is likely to fall at least half in the next seven to 10 years.

“We will try to move to less but larger areas with less branches.”

If the Board accepts plans in a meeting in September, the changes will begin in April in England and in 2027 in Ireland. The list of branches that could be closed was not decided.

The Samiri, which is considered as the fourth emergency service by its staff and volunteers, plays a key role in preventing suicide and provides telephone support to troubled people.

Volunteers responding to calls are based on offices, many of which will now close.

The BBC has been told that more than a quarter of the total has been concerned about an internal forum since the announcement of offers.

The “virtual volunteering” plans, which people respond to calls from home, led to fears that volunteers could abandon their charities only because of the pressure of dealing with suicide calls.

Others just decided to help because of the isolated emotion at home.

Female volunteers also said that they would be uncomfortable about working from a distance due to the number of abusive and sexual calls received by the charity.

Bentley said in a message to the personnel that some offices could not protect enough volunteers and that they do not support the effective delivery of our services to the callers “.

In addition, too many parts of Samaritans’ income “to develop our services instead of using bricks and fees to protect” expressed the concern.

However, this is the loss of sincerity and the support of offices to worry about many volunteers.

They are afraid that the proposals of the charity will create large, non -personal call centers in big towns and cities, reduce the likelihood of people from rural areas to be voluntary and undermines the meaning of being a Samaritans volunteer.

In the latest accounts, almost two (£ 15.3 million) of the income of 24.6 million pounds of the aid organization was spent in personnel costs and less than 4% income in land and buildings.

“We’re not against change,” he said to a volunteer BBC, “However, they did not provide evidence that these changes would improve the charity. It sounds more like the professionalization of Samiri.”

The proposals will see that the charity is withdrawn from some existing activities, including providing negotiations in schools and the emotional support line to veterans.

In a statement to the BBC News, they stressed that Samaritans services will continue to be present at any minute of the day, so people should always be able to communicate with them.

“Samaritans, 365 days a year, offers a life -saving service, but the changing needs of our callers and volunteers mean that our services should work.” He said.

“We are interested in our volunteers about the suggested improvements, which means that we can respond to more calls, have more volunteers in the task, and that we can be there for more people in the darkest moments.

“Samaritans volunteers are dedicated to being there for our callers and remain in the heart of our service, but having more than 200 branches ranging from 10 to 300 volunteers prevents us from providing the best possible service to people who need us.”