Samaritans has been warned that thousands of its helpline volunteers could quit if controversial proposals to close half of its 200 local branches over the next decade go ahead.
The mental health charity, sometimes regarded as the fourth emergency service, has about 22,000 volunteers answering calls and messages from people in crisis in the UK and Ireland.
A Samaritans board meeting on Saturday is expected to decide whether to approve proposals to cut local branches in favour of bigger regional call centres as part of a “future-proofing” strategy aimed at reducing costs and improving services.
A group of Samaritans branch directors have written to the board accusing it of failing to listen to volunteers and warning that a move to regionalise helplines will destroy the local connections that motivate volunteers and drive fundraising campaigns.
The letter, signed by seven branch directors, says there are “widespread and continuing concerns” about the proposals. “Regrettably, we do not feel these concerns are being fully heard, and we fear that implementation of the current in-principle decisions could seriously harm and diminish the organisation we all value so deeply,” it says.
One of the signatories, James Watkins, a co-director of Rhyl and North East Wales Samaritans, told the Guardian that the proposals as they stood would lead to an exodus of volunteers and risked “significantly damaging the charity”.
The letter calls for a vote of no confidence in Samaritans’ chair, Keith Leslie, at the charity’s annual general meeting in October. Leslie, a former oil company executive, is a leadership expert with years of experience as a charity trustee.
Samaritans said the changes were designed to ensure it could answer more calls, cut waiting times and attract more volunteers. It rejected claims that it had not properly consulted staff.
Watkins said a survey of 210 volunteers working in eight out of the 10 Wales branches found 74% would not move to another branch if their own was closed, while 80% felt the future-proofing plans were unlikely to work.
A similar survey carried out by the Kingston upon Thames Samaritans branch found 64% of volunteers were opposed to branch closures. There is also widespread nervousness about plans to test the handling of calls remotely from volunteers’ homes.
Colm Martin, a volunteer at the Kingston branch who has helped organise opposition to the proposals, said about a quarter of branch directors were known to be concerned about the proposals.
“People initially gave Samaritans’ [leadership] the benefit of the doubt, but more and more they feel they are not being listened to and that the consultation is a fait accompli,” Martin said.
One Kingston survey respondent said they were “worried about the wellbeing of volunteers without the warmth of another person to hand if needed. Worried that the lack of close companionship will increase volunteer burnout, turnover and lack of human contact with our callers.”
Other respondents said a shift to home working would undermine the vital support and camaraderie of branch working. One said: “Female Sams [Samaritans] in particular are regularly abused on calls, I would strongly object to having those calls in my own home, alone.”
Julie Bentley, the chief executive of Samaritans, said: “Samaritans will continue to be there for those struggling to cope across the UK and Ireland, day and night, 365 days a year. The improvements we’re proposing will mean we can answer more calls, cut wait times, particularly in the middle of the night, and make it easier for people to volunteer with us.
“We have been listening to feedback from our 23,000 volunteers throughout this process and this will be considered carefully in the final decision-making.”
