THE first rule to becoming a Samaritan is leaving preconceptions, prejudice and "good" advice, no matter how well-intentioned, at the door.

The second is simply listening.

“You have to learn to do things the Samaritan way,” says listening volunteer Susie Higgs, who joined the charity two years ago having herself struggled to find support in her hour of need.

“The challenge is to learn to actually listen to someone and not give advice – interact with callers in a way that you wouldn’t necessarily in your everyday life.”

Fellow listening volunteer Nicky Borman has had to refrain from throwing her two cents in or impulsively “reacting” to deflect a situation or comfort a caller.

“Sometimes a call can make you react instantly rather than sitting back and listening, thinking about it,” she admits.

“You might have the urge to say something reassuring but it may not be what they want to hear. We don’t know what’s right for someone else; we don’t know them. If there is anything we can do it is get the caller to make changes for themselves, by being there. You can’t jump to conclusions."

Samaritans was founded in 1953 in London by Rev Chad Varah.

The vicar was inspired to “befriend the suicidal and despairing” after conducting the funeral of a 14-year-old girl who had mistaken her first period for a sexually transmitted disease and taken her own life.

When Chad was offered charge of the parish of St Stephen in the summer of 1953 he launched what he called a 999 for the suicidal. He was, in his own words, “a man willing to listen, with a base and an emergency telephone”.

The first call to the new service was made on November 2, 1953.

Soon the helpline was making headlines. By December the Daily Mirror had coined the phrase ‘Telephone Good Samaritans’.

Despite its founder’s beliefs, the Samaritans was not a religious organisation but the name stuck. Ever since, the Samaritans have provided a safe space for people to share their fears and anguish before it is too late and be listened to without judgment.

The charity has 201 branches across the country. The Swindon and District centre opened its doors on Curtis Street in 1967 and counts more than 130 volunteers. Of these, 90 are trained listening volunteers answering calls, text messages, emails and meeting anyone dropping in to the centre for help. The rest are fundraisers or work as admin support or shop volunteers.

More than ever, their work has been vital in Swindon with soaring suicide rates.

26 suicides were reported in 2012 compared to 11 in 2005. The figure rose to 67 between 2012 and 2014.

Statistics released by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust also show that from 2008 to 2012, 259 users took their own lives, an average of 52 patients a year across the region.

Nationally, around 6,000 people die by suicide each year. Men are the demographic most at risk and also the least likely to seek help from charities like the Samaritans before reaching the point of no return.

“Our vision is for fewer people to die by suicide but we also believe people have the right to self-determination so if they chose to ultimately it’s their right,” says Swindon and District Samaritans director Debbie Merifield, who joined the charity seven years ago, prompted by the suicide of a close family friend decades earlier.

“But we hope that through talking to us and exploring their feelings and their options the intensity of their suicidal thoughts might lessen.

“For some people they won’t disappear but they might see a little clarity rather than just black.”

While suicide prevention and supporting people on the brink of despair remains one of the charity’s priorities, users contemplating ending their lives do not make up the bulk of the Samaritans’ daily work.

“We get calls from people who are lonely –we have regular callers – from people who are desperate, who have financial difficulties, problems in their relationship or have been abused,” says Debbie. “We will stay on the line as long as they need, whatever their concern.

“I think it’s important for people to ring before they reach that point of having suicidal thoughts. Ideally they would call us when they don’t feel quite right so they don’t get to that state of desperation where they see no other option.”

Last year alone the centre’s volunteers answered 17,673 phone calls, 1,703 emails, 4,318 texts. Another 654 people came into the branch for a face-to-face chat. Each call, message or visit is confidential and anonymous, unless the caller wishes to share their name with the volunteer.

At last count in November, they had responded to 10,200 calls and received 5,738 texts, emails and visits in 2015.

While the volunteers’ eight-week training aims to prepare them for any eventuality, offering a sympathetic ear but resisting the urge to get personally involved is a learning curve.

As is walking away from an upsetting call or accepting they will likely never know if they made a difference.

“You will always wonder, 'Have I done enough? Could I have done things differently?’,” says Nicky, who has worked as a listening volunteer for a year.

“If you didn’t question that, you would not make a good Samaritan.

"It was harder in the beginning. But when you get a call and they say ‘Thank you’ at the end, it makes all the difference.”

Debbie adds: “You have to accept that when the call ends you’ve done what you could and hopefully provided the support they were looking for. You won’t know what will happen next.”

Unconditional support has seen volunteers caught up in daunting and uncomfortable situations, admits Debbie.

“People might be telling you something that is completely against your values but you must be able to listen and treat them the same as everybody else,” she says. “We might also get a call from an abuser for whatever reason and sometimes it can be hard on the volunteers.”

When the job takes its emotional toll, the Samaritans can always rely on each other to unload at the end of a difficult shift and gain a little perspective.

“We were doing a talk in a school about the Samaritans and one of them said: ‘So you talk more to the Samaritans than anyone else?’ I suppose I do,” smiles Susie.

“Often when the caller hangs up that’s the end of our contact with them. It’s not always easy but I think it’s about the now. I know I was there and that they can call again if they need to. We are here every hour of every day. No-one is alone.”

The Samaritans’ free helpline is available on 116 123, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Alternatively call the local branch on 01793 537373 or e-mail jo@samaritans.org.

If volunteers are already on the line at the Swindon contact centre, calls will be automatically diverted to an available volunteer anywhere else around the country.