We believe that supporting the school community is an important part of the Samaritan role. We have a trained Schools Talk Team, made up of listening volunteers, who support local secondary schools and colleges by:
- Giving Emotional Health education talks and assemblies, leading a lesson or running workshops with young people.
Time spent exploring issues around emotional health, coping strategies and support networks can help to build resilience and enhance the well-being of young people.
- Offering support to schools through an online resource ‘DEAL’ (Developing Emotional Awareness and Listening).
DEAL has been designed by Samaritans volunteers, teachers and young people to develop emotional resilience in young people by raising awareness of emotional health, developing coping strategies, developing communication skills and developing supportive and help-seeking behaviour.
- Involvement in college/university events such as Fresher’s Fairs and Mental Health awareness days.
As one of the teachers at a local school fed back to us: “I just wanted to say a huge thank you again for coming to our school yesterday. You provided a brilliant, thought provoking session for our students. We are so grateful for you to giving up your time to do this.”