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Outreach

  • What is Outreach? This area of our work is all about taking Samaritans out into the communities of Wakefield, Dewsbury, Castleford, Normanton, Pontefract and other surrounding areas. By going out into the community we would like to raise awareness, reduce suicides, raise our own profile and recruit new volunteers. We would like to help the public understand who we are and what we do, and that we are there for anyone with a problem no matter how big or small.

  • We would like to target schools, sports clubs, youth groups, home start, hotels, the elderly, transport organisations, CAB, hospitals, job centres, ethnic minority groups, family services, disability organisations, police and custody cells, fire service, parent and toddler groups, carers, halfway houses, community centres in fact any groups of people, as we all can experience feelings of despair at any time in our lives.

  • Wakefield Samaritans have a dedicated team of volunteers on the Outreach Team. We can come to your workplace, adult group, college, senior school, junior school or any gathering. We talk about Samaritans and the work we do. This includes the problems people face in today’s world and how and who you can talk to when this gets too much to bear. We have specific presentations to suit the audience to whom we are presenting.


We do not charge for this service as we feel that if we can help just one person who is in distress our time has been worthwhile. However if you would like to give a donation or undertake any fundraising on our behalf we would always be grateful. Additionally we work closely with other organisations and can set up working partnerships where appropriate.

The various sections of your work include: -
Junior Schools
Senior Schools and Colleges
Workplace Visits
Adult Groups
Working inpPartnership with other organisations
Feedback from our visits
See below for information on each of the above.

  •  Junior Schools

At Wakefield branch we are the national leaders with our programme dedicated to working with junior school pupils at KS2.
We would like to tell you about a service our branch of Samaritans offers to junior schools throughout the local community. We have a small team of volunteers who can visit your local school to talk to children in KS2 about Samaritans and to raise awareness of emotional health.
This is a brief outline of what we offer. Initially we would come to the school and give an assembly talk that lasts about 45 minutes. This can be to Y3 and above or just to Y6 children. We talk about the work Samaritans do, the history of the organisation and about why people contact us. We do not talk at length about suicide and death, although we do mention suicide briefly. We usually incorporate a short role play showing someone ringing the Samaritans. We end this session with a quiz.

In a second visit we present a workshop involving no more than one Y6 class. If there are several classes in the year we can arrange further workshop sessions. We require a large classroom or similar, preferably with all the desks pushed to the outer perimeter so we can utilise the floor space. We also need a couple of whiteboards or flip charts with marker pens, and facilities for showing a short DVD.

Our workshop is aimed at the emotional wellbeing of children and to encourage them to talk about problems and worries and to become less judgmental about each other.

This workshop is planned for half a school day.

We always ask that you let our speakers know before they start, if there are any particular pupils who have problems or vulnerabilities and who may be affected by our visit.

If you would like to arrange a visit to you school please send an email to wakefieldsamaritans@yahoo.co.uk and a member of the Outreach Team will be in touch.

  • Senior Schools and Colleges

Wakefield Samaritans have been working with senior school pupils in the Wakefield and Kirklees Education Authorities for over 12 years.

Emotional health and wellbeing is such an important part of growing up and we feel that by talking about your problems with someone you trust, can help to alleviate feelings of despair and distress.
Did you know that?
• Every year in the UK over 19,000 children attempt suicide - one every half hour
• There are over 2 million visits a year by children to GPs for emotional and psychological problems
• Suicide is now the number one cause of death for 18-24 year old males
• In the age range 15-25 years, four times as many males take their own lives by suicide compared to the number of females in the same age range.

Our volunteers can come to your school to give a presentation lasting up to one hour. Many schools and colleges ask that we visit Y11-13 students who, as we all know, are embarking on many life changing decisions. For some students these can become the most stressful time of their lives so far. We have also worked with Y7 and Y8 students looking at emotional health and how to deal with difficult problems. We always ask that you let our speakers know before they start, if there are any particular pupils who have problems or vulnerabilities and who may be affected by our visit.

We have incorporated our visits into the school’s citizenship programme, PSHE curriculum, ‘Stop the Clock’ days and other appropriate lessons.

If you would like to arrange a visit to you school please send an email to wakefieldsamaritans@yahoo.co.uk and a member of the Outreach Team will be in touch.

  • Workplace visits

Stress related illnesses account for over 6 million sick days per year in the UK. The HSE is encouraging business to take stress seriously as it can cause many serious health risks to employees.

Many people at work find they take their problems home and find no respite from the strains they are under. In some cases this stress can lead to feelings of despair and acute distress that may lead to suicide. Lots of people find they have no-one they can talk to about their problems.
While we don’t claim to solve problems, Samaritans are here to listen and allow callers the time to explore their own feelings.

We can come to any place of work to talk to a group about Samaritans and the services we offer, and about how sharing problems and feelings can actually help reduce stress. We don’t offer advice but we do listen to anyone’s problems no matter how big or small.
If you would like to arrange a visit to your place of work please send an email to wakefieldsamaritans@yahoo.co.uk and a member of the Outreach Team will be in touch.

  • Adult Groups

If you are looking for a speaker at one of your group’s gatherings, why not get in touch with the Samaritans.
We can come and give a talk about our organisation and the work we do. Our presentations can last from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on your own timescales. Many people are amazed by the variety of our work and the fact that anyone can get in touch about any problem that may be causing them distress.
We always give out literature with our contact details to everyone who attends. You never know when you, a member of your family, a friend or a colleague may need to get in touch.

If you would like to arrange a speaker to visit your group please send an email to wakefieldsamaritans@yahoo.co.uk and a member of the Outreach Team will be in touch.

Alternatively please ring 01924 377011 and leave a message for the Outreach Team at Wakefield Samaritans.

  • Working in Partnership with other Organisations

In addition to going into the community to talk about Samaritans and emotional health, we are also setting up local partnerships to work closely with other organisations, those who may come into contact with emotionally distressed people. This partnership can be tailored to suit your own organisation. If you feel this is something which you would be interested in pursuing, please get in touch by sending an email to wakefieldsamaritans@yahoo.co.uk to arrange a meeting.

  • Feedback

Here’s a selection of feedback received from staff at some of the schools we have visited

Knottingley Church School. Drama section was enjoyed involving everyone and being enthusiastic. It was an excellent session.

Normanton Junior School. Children really felt involved. They were given opportunities to take part and given chance to say what they thought. Willing to listen to others because of the way it was organised.

Badsworth Primary School. Really good to give children the opportunity to talk and also to listen. Lots of issues that can be followed up.

Airedale Junior School. Seemed to enjoy the role play. Listened well throughout. Some found it difficult to participate at first but all were joining in by the end.
Fitzwilliam Junior School. Showed a good understanding of subject. Organised/clear. Good activities. Friendly and polite.

Streethouse School. Very interesting and informative. Lovely to know no-one ever has to be alone I think it’s really important about the service because otherwise lots of people would be dead or dying right now and it’s really thoughtful and caring of the volunteers The children enjoyed the activities and remembered a surprising amount of information.

Outwood Grange College. At Outwood Grange College, we deliver LIFE lessons to all year groups in years 7-11. as part of these lessons we run a module on 'Managing Stress" with year 11, this is usually done as we come up to examination time. As part of this, we have been very lucky to have class by class delivery from the Samaritans. This has taken the form of a talk interspersed with DVD and discussion. Students have always responded in a positive way and have interacted with the visitors with some very searching questions. We feel that knowledge of the Samaritans gives our young people another piece of armoury in their bank of resources for emotional wellbeing support. After the visit we often have students coming to ask about offering their services when they are old enough.