Our principles
At Samaritans, seven principles guide all that we do and the way we do it. This year we continued or completed much of the foundation work needed to embed our principles and demonstrated significant progress in several areas.
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:
- delivered in-depth EDI learning to staff and senior volunteers
- improved how we capture equalities insights through staff and volunteer surveys, and created targeted action plans
- established a network of EDI lead volunteers across our branches
- celebrated occasions like Pride, race equality week and neurodiversity awareness week
- established our first EDI Specialist Panel of specialists in areas like neurodiversity, LGBTQ+, disability, and race and ethnicity inclusion
- took action to improve knowledge of experiences of suicide and self-harm for minoritised communities including racialised communities, LGBTQ+, Travellers and unhoused people
- Support after Suicide Partnership (SASP) published research and guidance about bereavement support for the LGBQ+ community and those who are neurodivergent
Suddenly, for the first time in a long time, outside of the family home, I felt wanted. I felt that I could achieve something, that maybe I could do this. Everything that I’ve needed has been put in place, whether it’s large print, new keyboards, training to use Chromevox – which is a lady that talks in your ear. Samaritans has helped me redefine and rediscover myself.
Mark, Samaritans volunteer
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:
- worked with 300 people with lived experiences around suicide to build our understanding and set our ambition and approach for incorporating personal experience into Samaritans, creating a lived experience strategy that we plan to publish this year
- were informed by people with personal experience across a wide range of projects via our Lived Experience Advisory Group and Lived Experience Panel, which now numbers over 600 people
- co-produced our policy on LGBTQ+ people and suicide with 11 advisers from these communities with lived experience of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and self-harm
- alongside our partners in the Suicide Prevention Consortium, worked with people with no fixed address and those from Roma, Gypsy, Showmen and New Traveller communities to improve our understanding of their experiences of health inequalities
- continued to host the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA) which has supported over 30 projects for people with lived experience to influence and engage with.
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:
- recruited volunteers to increase the capacity of our Quality & Service Improvement Hub, which monitors our helpline, email, online chat and mail services
- completed quality reviews at 54 branches or hubs
- handled 3,790 caller safeguarding concerns raised by listening volunteers via our Safeguarding Hub. We made external referrals – for instance to the ambulance service or police – 1,198 times, when very concerned about something a caller had told us
- created caller support plans for 149 people, providing proactive support to callers who need extra support
- revised and updated several policies that inform what we do in certain situations, such as confidentiality, self-determination and threats of harm to others
- updated our criminal record check requirements for volunteers so all listening volunteers get ‘enhanced’ checks plus checks against the ‘children’s barred’ list, and all non-listening support volunteers undergo basic checks
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:
- made it easier to use research across Samaritans’ work by providing easy-to understand resources about the latest evidence
- provided ethics and quality training to all Samaritans’ staff who undertake research
- began two research projects in prisons, to inform prisoner suicide prevention work by ourselves and others
- began research into the effectiveness of our signage aimed at people in crisis
- published findings from our research into stigma of self-harm in Ireland and Northern Ireland, which revealed a disconnect between people’s willingness to help someone who self-harms and how they behave
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:
- put a new communications strategy in place, positioning us to increase our profile and responsiveness
- stood up for our beliefs in the face of adversity, for example by showing our continued support for Trans Day of Remembrance
- achieved significant media and social media engagement for our work, position and demands across key issues including suicide prevention funding and the Online Safety Bill
- gained over 73,700 followers on social media and received over 270 social media messages every day, reacting and responding whenever possible
I saw online that you don’t have to feel suicidal to call Samaritans, they’re there for anyone who’s struggling; feeling overwhelmed, or experiencing self-harm for example. That’s what I identified with, and why I called.
Alys
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, 24 hours a day, and the most effective platforms for our people.
This year we:
- future-proofed our listening service beyond the UK landline switch-off by commissioning a new platform that will bring together branch broadband, voice, email and online chat services
- reviewed all Samaritans’ digital services and products to identify gaps and potential improvements, which informed an important digital strategy that will shape our multi-channel future.
There’s nothing quite so isolating as being alone with your thoughts in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep. That’s where Samaritans helps me. It makes such a difference having someone at the end of the phone to listen, care and support me through my most difficult times.
Anonymous
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:
- switched to 100 per cent renewable energy across charity properties, through a new green energy contract
- completed our first annual energy consumption and energy saving reports for the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) regulations and Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)
- conducted energy performance surveys and issued certificates for 36 of our freehold branches