Rochdale, Oldham and District Samaritans celebrate 50th anniversary

Rochdale, Oldham and District Samaritans 50th anniversary

The Rochdale, Oldham and District Samaritans has celebrated its 50th anniversary of providing life-saving emotional support in the local community.

The Rochdale branch was opened in 1967, after the Manchester branch, started in 1962, received over 100 calls from Rochdale, Oldham and Ashton during 1966. As such, they thought it important that Rochdale had a Samaritans Branch of its very own.

The First Director of Samaritans in Rochdale was the Rev Peter Scotland, and the Branch opened on Rochdale's Lord Street (now demolished) where the Samaritans used the offices of the Marriage Guidance Council in the evenings when they were closed.

Rochdale Samaritans has been an independent charity since 1967 relies entirely on unpaid voluntary staff. For 50 years, it has been entirely the efforts and goodwill of the volunteers that have kept the service going.

One volunteer, Bill, has volunteered for the charity for approximately 21 years.

Bill said: “Having ceased business, I had time to devote to the Samaritans charity. I volunteered because I wanted to help those in states of anxiety, fear, depression or suffering from suicidal thoughts.”

Former chairman of the Rochdale Branch, Eleanor, has volunteered since 1998 with various voluntary roles since that time.

Eleanor said: “I was interested in the Samaritans and their work for a long time before I felt I had time to volunteer.

“I was a teacher of RS and for many years, at the end of the summer term when students were beginning to want to ease off a bit, I tried to look at various ways in which people had put their religious beliefs into action.

"One such person was the founder of Samaritans, the Rev Chad Varah. He found many came to him because they had no one to talk to and one young girl's funeral following her suicide particularly persuaded him to try to be available to listen. His parishioners started to sit with those waiting to see him, and were listening too. Things grew from there and the press coined the name 'Samaritans' to describe them.

“Like many other Samaritan volunteers, I had some periods in my own life when I needed someone outside my family to listen to me. Although I never contacted Samaritans, I knew they would be there if situations got too much for me.

“I want to say that it has been a great privilege to listen to many hundreds of callers who have been prepared to confide in us and share some of their deepest feelings with a Samaritan. We never know whether contact with us has been helpful, but we take over five million contacts a year over the organisation so many, many people must trust us and find it helpful.”

In the 1960s, fewer families had phones so there were a lot of face to face callers, as well as the occasional phone call.

These days, The Samaritans receives 5.5million contacts from callers nationally, and around 30,000 of these are answered in Rochdale. The Samaritans also answer emails and text messages from all over the world requesting emotional support.