News Date: Tuesday 4th April 2006
MP's Samaritans visit
East Worthing MP Tim Loughton visited the Worthing branch of the Samaritans last Friday. He was there to see round the project and present seven volunteers with long service awards and the branch as a whole with an achievement certificate.
Afterwards he spent time in a question and answer discussion with about a dozen volunteers and staff about their work and the problems they saw day to day. Tim has a special interest in this area as the Shadow Health Minister responsible for mental health.
Tim commented:
"The Samaritans is one of those charities which everyone has heard of but few people really know about and few people take the trouble to sing their praises, despite the essential work that they do. Over 100 volunteers from around Worthing handled 25,000 calls last year and without their hard work and dedication many people would have been left without a helping hand to get them through difficult times.
"Given the high incidence of suicide amongst young people and the increase in mental health problems I was particularly interested to hear about some of the preventative mental health projects that the Samaritans are promoting in schools and prisons for example. They perform a fantastic service for my constituents and I would encourage anyone to volunteer their service or help raise money for this very worthwhile charity."
ENDS
Tim Loughton MP , 2006
