50 Not Out - Samaritan Peter celebrates half a century of volunteering

A volunteer for Samaritans is celebrating 50 years at the Exeter, Mid & East Devon branch - and says he has no intention of stopping now.

Peter Adams, from Tedburn St Mary, first joined the charity when he was just 25 in 1972. That was the year when Edward Heath was Prime Minister, the Ford Granada was launched, and Jesus Christ Superstar made its debut on the West End stage.

“My interest in volunteering for Samaritans came about after watching a series on BBC TV in February 1972 entitled The Befrienders” explains Peter, a retired control room assistant at the Western Power utilities company.

That programme dramatised the experiences of make-believe Samaritans but Peter found his first experiences of the real thing to be nerve-wracking and hard work.

“When I started we had over 200 volunteers doing a shift once a fortnight and a night duty every two months - in those days night shifts lasted 10 hours” he says.

“For the first few years I used to worry about what I should say. I would shake when the Hot-Line rang. Then I worked out a few phrases that would help me, ways of turning a question perhaps.”

Now people can contact Samaritans by telephone, web-chat or email but in the 1970s there were only two ways for people seeking support from the charity.

Peter comments: “One method was the telephone of course, but actually some people were frightened of the phone at that time. So there were many callers who would visit Samaritans in person and we would have face-to-face sessions with”.

Working with Samaritans has been life-changing for Peter in more ways than one. In 1979 he met his wife Janet, who was also a volunteer, and without whose support he says he could not have continued.

Now Peter is to be given a long service award for his 50 years of service at the local branch annual general meeting later this month.

Another Samaritans volunteer, the branch director Mel Whittock says: “Peter is a shining example of what it’s like to be a volunteer, giving thousands of hours of his time over half a century.

“We know that every one of our incredible volunteers - whether they help for a few months or many years - performs a vital role.They give their time to help to deliver our 24-hour emotional support service to callers in many ways, from answering telephones and emails, to fundraising, generating publicity, administration and finance.

“Not everyone can or will stay for decades but if you are interested in helping do please get in touch.”

Meanwhile Peter Adams is celebrating his half century of service but is not calling a halt to volunteering just yet.

He says: “Being a Samaritan has been one of the most formative influences in my life. It’s allowed me to be open to many people and I’ve been privileged to meet people as they are behind their masks and stripped of their roles. I have more to give.”