Sandra Blayden, new director of The Samaritans for Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley, wants the charity to be less insular and faceless. She spoke to PAULINE HAWKINS about her aims.

ONE of the expressions used in training Samaritans in Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley is: "Don't just do something, sit there."

It's a clever twist on an old expression, but one which helps sum up the vital work of the volunteers who offer a 24-hour-a-day helpline for people in distress.

One of those volunteers is Sandra Blayden, who has been selected as the branch's new director for the next three years. She takes over from Joyce Flitcroft, who also served the charity for a three-year stint after being nominated by other volunteers.

Blackburn-born-and-bred Sandra, 57, a senior manager for a local company until she took early retirement, said: "Unlike major companies, directors of The Samaritans are usually appointed from within.

"The selection is made by the branch and it is the members who decide which volunteer is best suited to the role. It's quite a democratic process."

Sandra, a divorced grandmother of six, first volunteered for The Samaritans 16 years ago. She recalled how her commitment to the cause was first sparked.

"I can remember years and years ago waiting for a bus. At the bus shelter was an advertising recruitment campaign poster.

"I will never forget that poster. I stood beside it every day for a couple of weeks. It was a young woman with a bottle of pills, booze and a telephone and a caption 'Could you help this person?'

"I kept looking at this very sad lady and thought, 'how awful to feel like that' and I applied shortly afterwards."

Over the years, with training, Sandra has learned the importance of listening to people who have suffered emotional upset. Some who call may feel on the brink of suicide and others, although not suicidal, may be facing a problem they feel they cannot share with a friend or family member. They will always find a Samaritan waiting to listen and provide emotional support with complete confidentiality.

Training of volunteers is something that has to be uppermost in the mind of the director.

Sandra said: "We try to have three training sessions per year, which is quite a task in itself, to keep up with the volunteers who move on.

"We have about 100 volunteers at any one time and we need 84 volunteers every week to run the rota system. It is not easy to maintain the situation because there are always people moving on for all sorts of reasons.

"We try to do as much as we can to encourage people to see what we are about. I think for a long time people have thought of The Samaritans as a secretive bunch who do not tell very much about themselves.

"We want to emphasise that we are ordinary people -- shift workers, electricians, teachers. We want to be there for the public and not appear to be a secret society. We are not counsellors. We are trained to listen. We ask people how how they are feeling.

"Sometimes a caller will tell you that you have been able to find a solution when really they have found it through talking. That's when you feel you have done your bit.

"We are always on the lookout for volunteers. You can be a volunteer from the age of 18 and there is no barrier on age, creed, sex or religion. I would love to see a whole batch of young people arrive -- young people do care and I think they have far more to offer than they give themselves credit for.

"I think young people perhaps wonder how they can deal with an older person in distress, but a Samaritan doesn't know or care about the age of the individual they are speaking to. There is no difference between young and old volunteers because the aim is to support the emotional person, help someone gather their scattered thoughts and sift through the misery they might be going through.

"We are all constantly under emotional stress in one way or another."

But who is there to support the volunteers after the end of what may be a gruelling shift?

It is Sandra's new-found role to make sure the volunteers are able to take advantage of the charity's internal support system, which allows them to be "de-briefed" after each session so they can leave the office in New Park Street, unburdened.

Sandra said: "All our volunteers are supported right the way through. I think detachment is not easy for anyone. If you have listened to a story of someone's life and it has moved you to feel really concerned, the support network is crucial."

She believes that many of us can help ourselves by making time for ourselves and our feelings.

"I had a stressful job and did a lot of travelling. I had no time for me. When you take time out for yourself, to explore how you really feel, understanding yourself is a big thing.

"I think it is helpful sometimes to take on something like this because as a volunteer you don't get paid, you aren't a slave to money."

Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley branch of The Samaritans has its office at 105 New Park Street, which is open without appointment, from 8am-10pm. The telephone is manned 24 hours a day (01254 662424) but if all lines are busy the national number -- 08457 909090 -- will connect you to the nearest available centre 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.