Samaritans May Close About 100 Branches Across UK and Ireland

Samaritans has announced plans to close at least half of its 200 branches across the UK and Ireland, move volunteers into larger regional hubs and pilot remote call handling in a shake-up that dismayed some volunteers.

- Jessica Murray

The mental health charity told volunteers last week it hoped "within the next seven to 10 years, our branch network will have reduced by at least half" and that it would have "fewer but bigger regions".

The charity's 22,000 listening volunteers answer calls and messages from people in mental health crisis at 201 branches across the UK and Ireland. It says its helplines receive a call every 10 seconds, and some branches also offer face-to-face services.

Julie Bentley, the charity's chief executive, told volunteers that much of its fundraising income was going into "maintaining bricks and mortar".

The charity said it hoped its "volunteer numbers will have increased as we offer more flexibility", adding that it had no plans to reduce the level of service it offered.