Downturn leads to volunteer upturn

Many people who are working fewer hours or who have lost their jobs are using their spare time to help out

Many people who are working fewer hours or who have lost their jobs are using their spare time to help out

MANY PEOPLE who have found themselves working shorter hours or with no jobs as a result of the recession are putting the extra time on their hands to good use – by volunteering.

The Samaritans has reported increasing numbers coming forward to train as volunteers for its helplines, while the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) has had a similar experience.

An IBTS spokesperson said the difficulties it often has at this time of year trying to keep blood supplies at optimum levels have not been a concern this year as people seem to have more time on their hands to give blood.

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Suzanne Costello, national director of Samaritans Ireland, said while her organisation has never had any difficulty getting volunteers, it has noticed increasing numbers coming forward over the past months. These included people who had taken redundancy and had more free time as well as those who were doing a lot less overtime than in previous years.

“It is a very heartening and positive response in this current climate that people are willing to put themselves forward in this way,” she said.

“And it’s obviously vital because the State becomes more reliant on the voluntary sector at times like this,” she added.

The Samaritans, which runs a 24-hour helpline for those who are feeling lonely or suicidal, has about 2,100 volunteers north and south of the Border.

Those who volunteer receive training one night a week during an eight- to 12-week period. They can end up offering support on the telephone, by text messaging or face to face with those in need at drop-in centres.

“It’s a really positive way of remaining engaged if you are looking for work or have more time on your hands and it is enormously rewarding,” said Ms Costello.

At the IBTS blood stocks are “quite comfortable” for this time of year, which would not normally be the case.

A spokeswoman said this had to do with the fact that people have more time on their hands to donate blood in the current economic climate. But she stressed it wouldn’t be the only factor.

She said that during the past year the IBTS had gained up to 17,000 followers on Facebook and this, combined with targeted text messaging, was also likely to have increased the numbers of donors coming forward.

“We would traditionally always find the summer period difficult because people are on annual leave, they have exams, etc, and it always leads up to a position where you would be under a bit of pressure, but that is not the case this year.”

Meanwhile, Prof John Monaghan, vice-president of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, indicated that there had been a “significant increase” in people volunteering to work with the society throughout the State.

This has enabled it to open new conferences or branches in places such as Dundalk and Balbriggan to meet additional demand.

“I can’t say they are all people made redundant or on short-time working. That may be part of it, but I suspect it’s more likely that it’s people who simply feel, ‘there are others in difficulty and let’s see if I personally can do something to help them’,” he said.

Not alone was the organisation seeing more people willing to volunteer to help it in its work, donations were also holding up well, despite the downturn, he said.

“We are very grateful to have the increase in volunteers and donations because calls for help throughout the country have gone up dramatically in the last year.

“For example, in Dublin, calls for help have gone up 37 per cent, in Cork they are up 53 per cent, and in the midwest they have gone up 46 per cent.”