Our principles
Our strategic principles are the foundation for the life-saving support we provide at Samaritans. This year, we have made great strides in strengthening this foundation and supporting the long-term direction of our work.
Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
We will break down barriers to make Samaritans more diverse and inclusive, both through our people, but also in who we connect with and support, making sure that we are responding to people’s needs in a way that is relevant and meaningful to them and their circumstances.
This year we:
- published our new EDI commitment and five-year goals, following an extensive organisation-wide review in 2021/22
- launched the first phase of our 18-month EDI learning project to create and deliver a dynamic EDI learning plan in response to the needs of our staff and volunteers
- published a new policy statement on ethnicity and suicide outlining how suicide rates vary between ethnic groups and identifying key changes needed, including the routine recording of ethnicity on all death certificates
- held disability awareness and reasonable adjustments training for Regional Directors and a Branch Director from each region
- worked to support our diversity network groups, Samaritans of colour, the disabled network and the LGBTQIA+ network.
Personal experience
We will ensure the voice of people with experience of suicidal feelings, suicide attempts, self-harm, or bereavement by suicide is central to and shapes all our services, products, campaigns and activities.
This year we:
- appointed our first ever senior Lived Experience role by recruiting a Head of Lived Experience to further develop our to approach to lived experience
- grew our Lived Experience Panel, which now has 532 members helping to shape and improve our influencing work, service development, and research and evaluation work
- started creating and promoting paid lived experience roles for people to get involved on a freelance basis as equal partners in some of our decision-making.
Safety and quality
We will ensure a safe, effective and positive experience for all those who come into contact with our services. We will continue to focus on safety and quality, including safeguarding children and adults at risk of harm who seek support from us. We will always look to exceed the expectations of people we support.
This year we:
- developed our caller support and safeguarding hub, which now handles all caller support and non-urgent safeguarding concerns and provides a 24/7 support line to branches
- started a programme to work towards zero tolerance for those that misuse our service by being abusive or threatening to our volunteers
- completed 65 quality reviews with branches across the UK and Ireland, recruiting 12 new quality mentors to support quality reviews in branches.
Evidence-based
We will use research, evidence, insight and data to inform all our services, activities and digital offerings. Where evidence is not available or clear, we will look to work with partners to fill those gaps.
This year we:
- led the Suicide Prevention Consortium, which also includes the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA), Support After Suicide Partnership (SASP), and With You, aiming to bring the expertise of our member organisations and the voice of those with lived experience directly to policymakers to improve suicide prevention in England
- delivered a comprehensive review of suicide prevention strategies in London prisons
- commissioned research in Scotland to better understand the experiences of people who have experience of insecure, lone, and isolated work, low pay and other issues around employment, and experiences of suicidal feelings or self-harm
- worked with YouGov to hear directly from young people who have contacted Samaritans and were able to understand, for the first time, about their experiences of using our services.
Vocal and visible
We will never shy away from raising our voice and campaigning on issues that matter to us, particularly those that directly or indirectly impact people’s risk of suicide, such as inequality, deprivation, prejudice, and unfair treatment.
This year we:
- spoke out about the cost of living crisis, calling on the Prime Minister to take action against the impact that the crisis is having on people’s mental health, and calling on the Government to invest more in suicide prevention and mental health support
- used our social media presence on Twitter to challenge the Daily Mail for unhelpful and stigmatising coverage of mental health and self-care in the construction industry
- continued monitoring the general public’s understanding and trust in our work – when prompted 86 percent of people said they have heard of Samaritans and 76 percent have a great deal of trust in us.
Innovation and technology
We will encourage innovation and keep pace with developments, so that we can offer up-to-date and responsive services to the people who contact us, and the most effective platforms for our people.
This year we:
- continued to roll out improved branch technology – 99.5 percent of branches are now using Chrome OS devices
- launched a pilot at 11 branches to help us future-proof our branch-wide area networks – so far 150,000 calls have been taken using internet connection
- expanded our email, quality and caller support, and safeguarding hubs, which now have 766 volunteers.
Environmental responsibility
We will build a sustainable approach as we embrace hybrid working and volunteering and develop a better understanding of our energy footprint.
This year we:
- obtained a new Green Energy contract, which incorporates 100 percent renewable energy from wind and hydro assets for our supply of electricity across the central charity branch and property estate, covering around 60 locations.