Samaritans are still on hand to offer support

Horsham and Crawley Samaritans has said it is ‘busier than ever’ but still on hand to offer support to people.

A spokesman for the group said it was ‘certainly feeling the strain’ on its services.

He added :“With over 30 per cent of listening volunteers in isolation, branches all over the country are finding their services stretched to the limit.

“We’re experiencing more calls from people struggling to cope and expressing feelings of fear, panic, isolation or even suicidal thoughts.

At Horsham and Crawley Samaritans, our branch in Denne Road remains open and busier than ever, with a remaining core of volunteers taking calls and emails around the clock.

“We had to temporarily take the difficult decision to stop seeing face to face callers, but we still want people to know that we’re still here for them via phone or email.”

The spokesman said the safety of volunteers is of the utmost importance, with strict guidelines to hygiene and social distancing.

“We’re incredibly proud of how our volunteers have given extra time to support people who are feeling isolated at the moment,” he added.

Volunteer Jacqui Clark said: “The calls I had on my last shift were really intense. Many people are finding things incredibly hard to cope with right now.

“It’s so good that we can still be there for them when they need us most.”

The branch has got used to several changes including recruitment, with interviews for prospective volunteers being sucessfully done online.

Linda Palmer, who leads on recruiting new volunteers in the branch said they were still looking for more people to join the team: “We encourage people who are interested to check out our website, register, and then we can send you an application form.”

But branch director Kevin Hawkes said they were having problems generating funds, with the usual fundraising and awareness events cancelled. “We have to generate all of the funds to keep the branch going ourselves, as we don’t receive government money, so every penny really does count,” he said. “We appreciate that many people are facing financial insecurity right now, but If you’re in a position to help, you can donate easily and quickly via our website.

“A donation as little as £5 will help volunteers to answer a call from help from someone who is struggling to cope. Whatever you can do to help us is so much appreciated.”