DESPITE being in its 50th year the Samaritans - the national organisation formed by a Blackburn priest - still suffers because of a number of public misconceptions.

DONNA McKENZIE visited a branch to find out the truth.

IN THE early 1950s a former Blackburn priest buried a 14-year-old girl who had taken her own life after mistaking her first period for a sexually transmitted infection.

Soon afterwards Chad Varah, who was vicar at Holy Trinity Church from 1942-1949 before leaving for London, decided he wanted to provide a network of people you could ask about anything, however embarrassing.

In 1953 he launched an emergency service for the suicidal and within weeks he had to take on volunteers to provide tea and coffee and sit with clients while they waited for an appointment with him.

But the clients began to pour out their problems to the receptionists while waiting and found they had no further need to speak with Chad afterwards.

Chad realised that just having someone listen to what they had to say could help people in distress and in February 1954 he officially handed over the task of supporting callers to the volunteers and Samaritans was born.

Since then the service has come a long way and there are now 203 centres across the UK which are run by 18,500 volunteers who take 4.5million calls every year.

There is even a national e-mail address for people to contact if it is easier for them or they are concerned about being overheard on the phone.

Samaritans in Blackburn is based in a terraced house in New Park Street. There are around 200 volunteers, aged 19 to 84, who are expected to work three three-hour day shifts plus one overnight shift each month, and take 25,000 to 30,000 calls each year.

At the Pendle, Burnley and Rossendale branch in Market Square, Nelson, there are 100 volunteers, aged from their early 20s to early 80s, who take around 25,000 calls each year. The centre opened May 1972 and also provides a face-to-face service for those who wish to call in person.

The number of calls at both sites varies throughout the day but the busiest period is usually 10pm to 2am.

The service is run entirely by donations and the Blackburn branch alone requires £20,000 every year to keep going. In 2002 Samaritans was rebranded to try and communicate more effectively about who they were and what they did.

Sandra Blayden, director of Blackburn Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Samaritans, said: "People have a lot of misconceptions and there are people who see us as some kind of secret society.

"Others think Samaritans are some kind of angels but we are ordinary people. Times change and we need to change too and be more open about what we do.

"What we deal with is confidential and we would never break the confidence of callers but we are not secretive people and and in the last few years we have tried to open the doors to other organisations and individuals.

"Other misconceptions are that people think we are paid or that we are funded by the Government. People also think we are only here for the suicidal but that is not true. Our mission is to remove suicide from society but there are lots of things that build to that and we want people to call us before it gets that bad.

"Callers are like volunteers; they come from every age group and every walk of life and we offer emotional support no matter what the problem.

"Quite a lot of people are stressed or very depressed and it can be harrowing to take that type of call but we have a support network here to help volunteers.

"Whatever the situation, we are here to listen. We don't give advice but we are here to listen to the caller's problems."

To find out more about becoming a Samaritan contact the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley branch on 01254 662424 or Pendle, Burnley and Rossendale branch on 01282 694929.

The national helpline number is 08457 909090 or email jo@ samaritans.org