Want to volunteer?
At Bedford, we take hundreds of calls every week. We respond to webchat also from our callers. With every call we can help someone turn their life around and make a real difference to their future.
Is this for me?
We welcome a wide range of applicants. You need to be 18 or over, and because we'll invest in you (our training is really high quality), you need to see this not just as a short-term role but something you're likely to do more long-term. You won’t need to have previous experience or qualifications, but you will need to be non-judgemental and accepting of others. It doesn’t necessarily matter if you’ve gone through difficult times yourself. What matters is that you want to help people find their own way – all kinds of people, from all walks of life.
Can I find out more?
There is the option of coming to one of our informal information events held throughout the year, where you can meet with some of our Samaritans. You can hear from them what it's like to volunteer with us and what we ask from our volunteers. We can answer any questions you have about becoming a Samaritan at one of these events.
How do I apply?
Complete the enquiry form online
On the Samaritans website you’ll go through some statements about the listening role and then complete our online enquiry form - it's quick, as we just need a few details. https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/volunteer/become-samaritans-listening-volunteer/.
Have an interview
You’ll have an interview on Zoom as part of our selection process. This is an opportunity for us to get to know you and for you and us to find out if the role is right for you. If you’re selected, you’ll attend our in-depth training.
Upcoming Training at Bedford 2025 - start dates
Starting in:
August - Saturdays - daytime
September - Tuesdays - daytime
October - Thursdays - evenings
Other Samaritan Roles
If listening is not for you we have plenty of other opportunities in our support team. We’d love to hear from you if you have experience that would help us run Bedford Samaritans, for example, in marketing, fundraising, administration, recruitment, training and much more. https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/volunteer/support-samaritans-other-ways/