“I called the helpline in the middle of the night and just being able to speak to someone at that time was a great help.”
Samaritans’ Awareness Day is very deliberately held on the 24th July or ‘24/7’, because Samaritans crucially offer their support at any time of the day. Someone in crisis isn’t bound by working hours, and it’s therefore vital that Samaritans can offer their non-judgemental support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The importance of 24-hour access to support is clearly acknowledged within the print industry, which is why the Printing Charity’s helpline is available any time of the day or year. Now adopted by almost 260 organisations in our industry, our helpline is enabling businesses to provide valuable in-the-moment emotional support for their employees, for free.
Round-the-clock emotional support provision matters
Being able to access support immediately is key according to FaberExposize UK & Northern Flags MD Iain Clasper-Cotte. “My mother was a Samaritan for many years, which made me understand how people often find it difficult to talk to family or colleagues when they need to. I am really pleased that we can offer our team access to a 24-hour support line in their moment of need,” he explains.
Being able to access in-the-moment emotional support is particularly applicable for businesses operating a 24/7 shift pattern. Mark Young, Bluetree Group Managing Director, says: “We run a 24/7 shift, so having something that we can point our team towards when they need support at any moment is incredibly important to us.”
For Mark Roberts, MD of Acorn Web Offset Ltd, the 24/7 helpline means he has confidence that support for his team is available outside his organisation’s standard business hours. “The helpline has a valuable role to play in the care available to our employees, especially in accessing out-of-hours working support,” he says. “It gives them the immediate chance to speak in a judgement-free zone with dedicated professionals no matter what time of day or night.”
Four helpline tips to regularly remind your team about
We don’t know when someone will need support from the helpline, but we all want to make sure it’s there for them when they do. The businesses we work with have come up with lots of ways to ensure helpline information is readily and consistently available for their employees. These include:
- Put helpline posters in places people go. Display helpline posters in places where team members regularly spend time, particularly places where they can discreetly make a note of helpline details. Toilets, kitchens and locker rooms are places where poster display has been effective.
- Talk about the helpline when emotional wellbeing is in the news. There are lots of points in the year when the spotlight is on emotional wellbeing. These are great times to remind your teams that the helpline is here for them.
- Share the information with everyone in your organisation. We regularly send out helpline reminders to our main contacts in all businesses who have signed up to the helpline. These are easy to send on to your teams and display in central locations.
- We’re here to help. Chat to us about how we can support your internal helpline launch and ongoing awareness raising, plus any specific help your team may need.
Find out more about the Printing Charity helpline, and be sure to check out the activities during Samaritans’ Awareness Day.