Worthing Samaritans listening volunteer known for dressing as a washing machine marks 50 years of service to the charity

Mike Shaw, 77, from Rustington joined in 1971 and has seen a lot of changes in the organisation in his time as a Samaritan, though, fundamentally, the core problems people are dealing with are the same.

It all started after his apparently untroubled younger brother took his own life, leaving Mike as a young man, wandering the streets near his home for hours, trying to understand why no-one knew his brother was so deeply troubled and why he had not talked to anyone about it.

Once the shock settled, Mike determined he would become a listening volunteer for the Samaritans and devote time to offering anyone else in distress the opportunity to talk to someone.

Zoe Ball sends personal message of congratulations to Worthing Samaritans' longest-serving listening volunteer

He said: "While we know that people are more willing to be open about MH problems today, there’s still much to be done – especially to help young men to open up about their emotional issues.”

Mike is the longest-serving volunteer at the Worthing branch and one of the longest-serving in the whole country – and he is still going strong, with at least one listening duty a week.

He said: "Years ago, we were very much a local service, with a local phone number and our premises in the early days were above a Chinese food takeaway. The branch was open 24/7 and this sometimes meant deputy directors filling gaps on the duty rota themselves if they couldn’t reach anyone to cover.

"I’ve had many roles – deputy director, leader, chair, listening volunteer. I’ve led training and prison teams. I’m now happy as a leader again, giving occasional help with training and most important, listening on the phone.

"Nowadays, it is a nationwide role with a single phone number for the whole UK and we are online for calls, which makes a much more flexible approach.”

Among his many memories are meeting the Duchess of Kent when she opened the charity's second building in Worthing and Princess Alexandra when she visited the branch for its 50th anniversary.

Mike added: "I was also well known for playing a washing machine, wearing a large cardboard box, during training for new volunteers, when we were trying to make the point that as Samaritans, we support people through trying times, we don’t solve practical problems like a broken washing machine. It was always hilarious but a memorable way to make a point!"

Samaritans like Mike are acutely aware many callers suffer mental health problems, especially post pandemic. Suicide remains the biggest killer of men aged under 50 and young people aged 16-24 – three-quarters of deaths by suicide are men. Samaritans answer a call for help from someone every ten seconds throughout the 200-plus branches and the Worthing branch handled 21,500 contacts last year. Contact Samaritans 24/7, 365 days a year on free phone 116 123.