Samaritans appeal for people to SHUSH!

Samaritans have an unusual message for the people of Exeter, Mid and East Devon this month - Shush and Listen.

But it’s not a rude warning - instead, Shush is an easy way of remembering how the 100 Samaritan volunteers who work from the charity’s Exeter base can help everyone in the public develop vital listening skills.

S is for Show you care: focus just on the other person, make eye contact, put away your phone...

H means Have patience: it may take time and several attempts before a person is ready to open up...

U is for Use open questions: that need more than expecting just a yes/no answer, and follow up with something like ‘Tell me more’...

S stands for Say it back: to check you’ve understood, but don’t interrupt or offer a solution...

And finally H is for Have courage: people shouldn’t be deterred by a negative response if they really want to help someone in distress.

The need to Shush and Listen is clear if you see how many peoples’ lives are touched by the charity in Exeter, Mid and East Devon alone.

The Samaritans handled over 42,000 individual contacts from the public at its Exeter base, mostly through telephone calls but also by email, via SMS texts and growing numbers of face-to-face meetings.

“We listen. That’s what we’re here to do when people contact us, and sometimes it can be really challenging. But you don’t have to be a Samaritan to be a good listener. We’re asking people all over the country to Shush and listen better to each other,” says Helen Crossfield, director of the local branch.

Throughout July, Samaritans volunteers up and down the UK and Ireland, who are based in 200 different branches, will be staging events to raise awareness of the services they offer in their local communities. In Exeter, there will be a fund-raising and awareness-raising walk by volunteers.

More than 6,000 people die by suicide every year in the UK. Nearly 80 per cent are men, and male suicide rates are now at their highest level since 2001.

The charity provides support to people who are distressed or in despair which may lead to thoughts of suicide. People can talk to us at any time, in their own way and in confidence, about whatever is going on in their life.