East Anglia’s Day with Norwich Samaritans

​On Tuesday 5th August, the East Anglia Consultants, alongside Chantelle, our East Anglia Resourcer and Lauren, our Plymouth Secondary Consultant, spent a day with Stephen from Norwich Samaritans. We learnt about the work that the Samaritans do, how the listening skills they use on their calls can transfer into the office, and spent the afternoon at Norwich Station, raising money for their continued work.

Many of us have come across the Samaritans over the years – be it through their online and media adverts or the news reporter highlighting their phone line after a tragic news story, and some of us may have possibly been passed their details through work or their GP, as a potential source of support during hard times.

Not many of us have had the opportunity to sit down for a morning with them, and Stephen gave us a fascinating insight into how the Samaritans listen (as it’s a little more involved than we would normally think!) and how Norwich Samaritans support around 30,000 people a year who are going through a myriad of challenging times, all who just need someone to hear them.

Our day began at the Norwich Chambers of Commerce, where we met Stephen. He went through some of the misconceptions about the Samaritans (Did you know that the Samaritans are a secular organisation, with no connection to a particular faith? Did you know that the helpline is available to anyone who needs a listening ear, not just those who are reaching a crisis point?) and about how they ensure their listening is impartial, judgement-free and focussed on the caller. We undertook some communication and listening activities, and explored our own biases and preconceptions, considering how these might impact the way we engage with our colleagues, teachers, support staff and schools. We also considered how these might impact a Samaritans volunteer listener, as they hear from someone going through difficulties.

We explored how it can be challenging to set aside our own inner voice when listening to others, and ways in which you can support someone with vastly different life experiences and views without that shared perspective. Stephen also told us about some of the challenges Samaritans volunteer listeners face; from responding to people in severe crises to managing nuisance calls when there are people in need trying to reach them.

In the afternoon, we walked down to Norwich Station, where we spoke with members of the public and raised funds for Norwich Samaritans. Many of those we spoke to had either seen the support of the Samaritans first-hand, or had family or friends they had supported. While we were tired at the end of the day, it was wonderful to see the impact the Samaritans had had on those we met, and we greatly appreciated Norwich Station and Stephen arranging the opportunity for us.

If you wish to donate to Norwich Samaritans, you can do so here!

Every member of Step Teachers’ staff gets one day of paid leave to support a charity. While we spent our time with Norwich Samaritans, there have been other activities going on elsewhere – you can read here about Lauren’s charity Jazz class, here about our Resourcing team’s 26 mile hike down Marriott’s Way, or here about Aidan and Chris’ Tough Mudder adventure!