“If I can have a positive impact on just one person, even indirectly, then it’s worth it.”

Avanti West Coast work closely with Samaritans and the wider rail industry to prevent suicide on the railways. Lucy Pritchard, Social Media Executive at the company, explains how volunteering as a Samaritan has broadened her knowledge around mental health to support her day-to-day role.

14 May 2024

I’m still new to being a Samaritan, yet I already know that every call is different, there isn’t such thing as a typical shift. What gets you through is knowing that the person on the end of the phone has chosen to call you, and that you might just have helped them see some light during their darkest time.

Losing my big sister Katy in 2016 to an overdose changed me, I hadn’t realised how bad mental health can get. Since then, I’ve made a conscious effort to start conversations around mental health and suicide, I think it’s key to reducing the stigma attached to these subjects. In my previous job, I’d taken part in training about mental health in the workplace, and I suppose because of my openness in conversations, I started to notice people naturally open up to me. It felt right to become a Samaritan, but I knew I needed to wait until the time was right. Grief is never easy for anyone, but this type of loss adds extra layers; I had to really make sure I was ready, because when you’re talking to callers it’s 100% about them, not you.

“My journey so far with Samaritans has taught me to actively listen to people; something we often think we’re doing but most of us aren’t.”

Using my volunteering experience at work to offer extra support to colleagues or even customers who contact us on social media is invaluable. If I can have a positive impact on just one person, even indirectly, then it’s worth it. I’m not a Samaritan when I’m there, but it’s hard to take the hat off completely now I’ve been through the training; I’ve signposted a number of customers towards the charity, whereas beforehand, I may not have picked up on certain trigger words. My journey so far with Samaritans has taught me to actively listen to people; something we often think we’re doing but most of us aren’t.

Samaritans and the wider rail industry’s joint campaign ‘Small Talk Saves Lives’ is absolutely crucial in delivering real help to real people; starting up a conversation about the weather really could save a life. I often wonder when passing through train stations and seeing Samaritans signs whether Katy ever called them. I’d like to think she did, as that gives me some comfort that she wasn’t alone.