Samaritans has said a recent branch closure in Kent is not part of its broader plans to close half of its sites nationwide, after concerns were raised by volunteers.
More than 85% of volunteers at the closed Folkestone branch quit the charity due to logistical reasons including being unable to travel to branches in large towns and cities and feeling uncomfortable answering calls from home.
Services at the branch were paused in January before it was permanently closed in April. The office was listed for sale on Tuesday at a price of £277,500.
The 83 volunteers at the former branch were offered to relocate to the nearby Canterbury or Ashford offices but only nine agreed and two chose to work remotely.
Samaritans’ office sale comes after the mental health charity announced plans to close more than 100 of its around 200 branches across the UK and Ireland over the next decade.
It said its current model was not sustainable and would focus on increasing its number of volunteers answering calls from fewer but bigger sites.
But Samaritans said the Folkestone closure had “nothing to do with the recent proposals to secure the future of our charity” and it was closed because it was “not being run in-line with the high standards of Samaritans”.
Concerns about volunteers’ treatment
One former volunteer at the Folkestone branch Nicola Joyce told the BBC she and her colleagues felt “disposable”.
She quit because she couldn’t leave her dog at home for long hours and did not want to volunteer anymore.
“At no point did the central charity formally acknowledge us or thank us,” she said.
“Some of us had volunteered for years, for decades. One member of our branch for over 50 years.
“We cared so deeply and gave so much. It felt brutal.”
A current Samaritans volunteer at a different branch, who wished to remain anonymous, told Civil Society: “The volunteers have been left devastated.
“There was absolutely no aftercare and the way in which it was done showed no compassion.
“We are an organisation that prides ourselves on compassion, caring and listening. That was not shown to any of the volunteers when the Folkestone branch was closed.”
According to the source, service users living around the Folkestone area will not be impacted because calls go through to a national number which are answered around the country.
But closures like the one in Folkestone mean volunteers have been lost which impacts their colleagues’ ability to answer calls, they said.
The source said they were “incredibly concerned” about the national closures and disputed the charity’s claim that the changes would improve the quality of the service.
“What’s happened at Folkestone reinforces the feeling and the fear that what happens when you close a branch is that you lose many valuable volunteers,” they said.
Samaritans defends support to volunteers
A spokesperson for Samaritans said: “The circumstances of one individual branch are not a predictor of outcomes elsewhere and whilst we worked hard to support the wellbeing of affected volunteers, including exploring ways for them to remain an important part of Samaritans, the needs of our callers will always be the ultimate priority.”
They added that individual volunteers were contacted personally by telephone and then received letters in January when the branch was initially paused.
Samaritans said it then wrote to all volunteers in April to inform them of progress and finally, when the decision to close the branch was taken, letters were sent out again.
The spokesperson said volunteers were provided with emotional support, the offer of an alumni group to keep in touch with one another and a coffee morning.
They added: “Samaritans absolutely appreciates and values the efforts of all our 20,000 plus volunteers.
“While we appreciate how disappointed the Folkestone volunteers may have felt with the eventual outcome, our priority is always to ensure the safe delivery of our service so we can reduce lives lost to suicide.”
