'Soul destroying' Volunteers fear Samaritans plan to close branches

At the Walsall branch of Samaritans, it has been a tough few years campaigning for the funds needed to replace the now leaky temporary building that they have operated out of for the past 60 years.

- Jessica Murray

After raising almost £300,000, they are on the home stretch towards reaching their final goal and being able to replace the building they use to help local people in the depths of crisis.

Then came the shock announcement from Samaritans central office: that it proposes to close at least half of its 200 branches across the UK and Ireland in the next 10 years. One member of the Walsall team said: "We just don't know what to do now. Do we carry on? It's soul-destroying."

Dozens of branches across the country have raised alarm at the charity's "in principle" decisions, which are still under consultation. September, fearing it could lead to a loss of volunteers and morale. These include moving volunteers into larger regional hubs, which some fear will create a "call-centre-style" model, and piloting remote call handling.

Volunteers at the Walsall branch said they had been blindsided by the news. "We had an event last week and someone else had raised £1,000 for us, and we didn't know what to do. Do we take the money? Because we know now that our branch could be closed," one volunteer, who asked to remain anonymous, said.