Dedicated life to vulnerable prisoners
Kathy Baker Samaritans volunteer who founded the Listener Scheme BORN JUNE 10, 1947 – DIED JUNE 7, 2018, AGED 70
DEVOTING herself to suicide prevention, Kathy Baker saved countless lives after founding the Samaritans’ Listener Scheme for prisoners in 1991, following the tragic suicide of a 15-year-old boy who hanged himself while detained at HMP Swansea.
At the time, the groundbreaking scheme trialled a revolutionary approach to suicide prevention by training prisoners to lend a compassionate ear to others and discuss their feelings in a confidential and non-judgmental environment.
Having celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016, the Listener Scheme is now an integral part of nearly every prison in England, Scotland and Wales.
Born in Northwood, Middlesex, Baker was educated at Northwood College for Girls where she became interested in photography. She enrolled at Ealing School of Art but later got a job in the research department of Unilever.
Soon afterwards she joined her local branch of Samaritans where she volunteered for nearly 50 years. During this time, Baker supported many released prisoners who suffered from mental health problems and who were at a high risk of suicide. This profoundly affected her so she decided to change her career path.
In 1973 she joined the Probation Service at Feltham and would later become the prison probation officer in HMP Wandsworth where she convinced prisoners to “keep an eye” on other vulnerable inmates.
In 1991 the Listener Scheme evolved into the confidential peer-support service it is today and once successfully piloted in HMP Swansea, it grew at a rapid rate.
Baker travelled around the country trying to persuade prison governors about the benefits of the Listener initiative. By 1996 100 schemes had been established. Baker, who was appointed an MBE in 1994, continued to play an important role as a suicide prevention adviser to high-security prisons until 2007.
She married her husband Bill, a fellow Samaritan in 2001 and he predeceased her in 2009.
In 2016 Baker was diagnosed with cancer and is survived by her mother and sister.