Samaritans of Scarborough spend 147 hours a week answering calls
The Samaritans of Scarborough says the lockdown and restrictions have not stopped them from doing their job.
The Samaritans of Scarborough says the lockdown and restrictions have not stopped them from doing their job.
That is from the Director of the town's branch, Libby Lorton-Gilbert, who has been reflecting on the past 12 months.
She said:
"We did go to a smaller rota at the beginning and as the year's gone on we've slowly crept up and increased our hours, and now we're offering 147 hours a week from our little branch in Scarborough. Our volunteers have continued to dedicate their time to filling our rota.
"Almost one in five calls for help have been about coronavirus with people feeling concerned probably more about their mental health, family relationships, finance, unemployment and loneliness and isolation continue to be a great concern.
"I don't think there's been an awful lot of difference in trends. People's concerns and worries have only been heightened by what's been going on so if they were lonely and isolated 12 months ago, then that would have only, I'd imagine, gotten worse for them.
"As soon as we're able to, we will definitely be getting back out into the community. We have a good relationship with Scarborough TEC and we actually did a talk for them online not so long ago so we'd like to continue doing things like that. We'll see what else is happening in the local community."
You can call the Samaritans any time, day or night from any phone for free on 116 123. Or you can write an email to jo@samaritans.org with a 24-hour response time.