Whatever you're going through, a Samaritan will face it with you. They're here 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to help those struggling to cope. Head to their website to find out more.
Learn more
Today is Samaritans Awareness Day – reminding everyone that no matter what time it is, what you’re going through, or how you’re feeling, the Samaritans are here 24/7 for anyone who is struggling to cope. With the simple message, ‘Talk to us, we’ll listen’.
It can be hard reaching out to someone in a moment of crisis, and across Consensus we’ve been taking steps towards ensuring every colleague feels supported, prioritising mental health within our wellbeing strategy. Taking action, we now have 53 trained Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAiders) across Consensus, despite only commencing the initiative 2 years ago.
Catching-up with a couple of our MHFAiders to talk about their roles, advice for those struggling, and chatting to Val about her role as a Samaritan, here’s what they had to share.
“Being an MHFAider is important to me because it has helped me to understand more about mental health and the importance of wellbeing in the workplace.” – Val
“I like my role as a MHFAider as I am determined to give the same support and guidance to anyone who needs it. The training is a great tool to maintain mental wellbeing and it’s amazing to support others. I can use the knowledge I’ve learnt and have the confidence to speak to people who are in need.” – Emily
“I became a MHFAider as I have experienced and am still experiencing mental health struggles and I want to ensure people have access to the support they need.” – Sophie
“At Samaritans, we work in a similar way to a MHFAider. We deal with callers using methods such as reacting, open questions, summarising, reflecting, clarifying, and using short words of encouragement, which can also be used when speaking to a work colleague as a MHFAider. The main difference between the two is that you would rarely know a caller to the Samaritans line, whereas it is quite likely you would know a work colleague.” – Val
“My advice to someone struggling would be to not feel ashamed about it, find someone to speak to and to not let it define you. We all go through mental health challenges to some degree in our lives so they are totally normal!” – Sophie
“There are resources available for every situation in life (e.g. Cruse, Rape Crisis, Frank, Shout, Hub of Hope, LGBT+ Helpline etc.). The first step (to pick up the phone or approach someone) is always the hardest but it is amazing how good it is just to share a problem with someone else.” – Val
“I encourage the person to talk to me or someone else they comfortable with, and reach out when in need.” – Emily
Taking the first step is never easy, but we hope either through the Samaritans, a colleague, a friend, or other services, everyone can feel the strength to reach out when they’re struggling to cope.
Whatever you're going through, a Samaritan will face it with you. They're here 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to help those struggling to cope. Head to their website to find out more.
Learn more
