VIEW, Issue 37, 2016
Page 24
www.viewdigital.org
Celebrating 10 years of Listening The Samaritans have a 24/7 access to their phone service within Maghaberry Prison
T
he Samaritans are celebrating 10 years of their award winning prison peer-support programme, the ‘Listeners’, in Maghaberry this year. Samaritans have been providing emotional support to prisoners for 25 years, recognising that they are one of the groups in society most vulnerable to suicide. The Samaritans support prisoners through a number of methods: 24/7 access to their phone service within the prison, providing emotional support on the wings of prisons, and setting up and running the Listener support scheme. This entails Samaritan volunteers recruiting and training prisoners to be Listeners in the prison. Currently, Samaritans have three Listener schemes running in Northern Ireland; the Belfast branch runs two listener schemes in Maghaberry Prison and the Coleraine branch, supported by Derry, have been running a scheme in Magilligan Prison since 2002. Belfast and Bangor branches also work together to provide emotional support to young offenders and women at Hydebank Secure College and prison.
We asked Gillian McNaull, Samaritans Regional Prison Support Officer, why they support prisoners. “Well, we recognise that prisoners are one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of suicide risks. A prisoner is eight to 10 times more likely to take their own lives than a member of the general population and 46 per cent of female prisoners and 21 per cent of male prisoners have attempted suicide prior to imprisonment. “We know that the entry period of committal to prison is the most high-risk time for prisoners, so we have Listeners giving inductions to all prisoners that enter the prison, and we know from our statistics that the most Listener call-outs come from the committal houses of the prison. “We are delighted to be marking 10 years of the well established scheme in Maghaberry. “The Listener training team of Belfast branch have received a certificate of achievement from the Lord Mayor’s charity awards and the Northern Ireland Probation Board partnership was the
recipient of the 2014 Charity Times Award for cross-sector partnership of the year. “Celebrating 10 years in Maghaberry will allow us to highlight not just that partnership, but also the great work of the Listeners who provide a supportive ear to those most in need in difficult conditions. “Not only do they help others, participating in the Listener scheme, it’s a process of training and reflection that can bring about great personal change for Listeners. As one of our prison listeners has said: ‘Because of the Listener scheme, the prison service has at its disposal an incredible tool that can and does, make a difference for those contemplating suicide and self-harm in prison.’ “To empower prisoners to do something good in a place they have been sent to for doing something bad – now that is a great gift.”
• For more information on the Listener scheme, go to http://www.samaritans.org/yourcommunity/our-work-prisons/listener-scheme