Samaritans to hold Peterborough roadshow to encourage men to seek help

Volunteers from Peterborough Samaritans will be joined by The Sun Network, Lifeline and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

They will be at St John’s Square near Leeds Building Society and Turtle Bay, between 10am and 4pm, and will be talking to locals about their services, Samaritans ‘Real People, Real Stories’ campaign, and providing emotional support to anyone who may need it.

A survey by Samaritans found that 41 per cent of men in England, Scotland and Wales aged 20 to 59 do not seek support when they need to because they prefer to solve their problems themselves.

As this group is most at risk of suicide, the campaign highlights stories from a number of men who have overcome tough times to encourage others to seek help by calling Samaritans 24/7 free on 116 123 or by visiting Samaritans.org.

Martin Cragg, director of Peterborough Samaritans, said: “We are looking forward to continuing our outreach work in Peterborough. We spoke to over 500 people on Brew Monday in January and hope to speak to even more in the city centre on Saturday, March 7.

“We will explain how we help those who need our support, how the charity works and how they might be able to help by joining us as a volunteer. By building our profile in the area and extending our contact with other charities I am sure we can help even more people in need.”

The Real People, Real Stories survey results found that although 78 per cent of men say it is okay to admit you are not feeling okay, many still avoid speaking out when they are finding life tough. A quarter of men felt their problems were not important enough to warrant calling a helpline.

Tony Robertson (38) suffered from undiagnosed depression for most of his life. Tony struggled to cope when he lost his job, his home and partner and attempted to take his own life.

“I was in my hospital bed the morning after and I saw my mum sat there upset, and something clicked. I started talking to my mum about how I was feeling. I think having that human connection really does bring that home.

“I hope by sharing my story as part of the campaign it will encourage other men to speak up and seek help before getting to the stage that I got to. Talking really can save lives.”

The survey found that some of the main reasons why men find life tough and struggle include debt or financial worries (36 per cent), relationship breakdown or family problems (30 per cent), loneliness or isolation (29 per cent) and job loss or job-related problems (25 per cent).

Almost three in 10 men (29 per cent) said loneliness and isolation had made them feel low in the past.

Find out more about Real People, Real Stories at: http://www.samaritans.org/realpeoplerealstories, You can also support by following the campaign @samaritanscharity on Instagram or sharing the video on Twitter @samaritans or Facebook at www.facebook.com/samaritanscharity, using the hashtag #RealPeopleRealStories.