Priority 1: Access

Our challenge

We cannot always meet the demand for Samaritans’ services and there is a risk that people who are trying to contact us cannot get through or get the response they need.

Our ambition

People will be able to access our support whenever they need it and get through to us in a way that works for them.

We will work hard to ensure people who seek our support can reach us how and when they need to, by training more volunteers and working innovatively on new ways to connect with us, like online chat, alongside continually reviewing and improving our phone, email and in-person listening services.

Samaritans Ireland objectives:

1. Strengthen RoI phone line technological capacity, improving both caller and volunteer experience by bringing RoI technology in line with UK baseline, optimising phone line performance and supporting new contact methods.
2. Increase access for callers in high risk or harder to reach groups by identifying and delivering new service approaches.
3. Strengthen awareness and influence in communities across Ireland by engaging at regional and local levels, and by promoting Samaritans’ services in a meaningful way.
4. Deliver outcomes of the Ireland Governance Review, strengthening Samaritans Ireland capability ensuring continued delivery of quality services and best practice governance and operations.
5. Support Ireland branches and volunteers to deliver high quality services by ensuring the provision of technology and other centralised support services in conjunction with Samaritans Central Charity (SCC), as well as exploring new service models and supporting their delivery when appropriate.
6. Continue to grow Samaritans Ireland presence and impact in Northern Ireland to address the disparity in suicide rates in NI vs RoI.