An Evening with the Cambridge Samaritans: Listening to the Listeners
8 October 2025
We live in a world of noise and voices, of change and upheaval. We live also in a time of anger and division, articulated most often through loud, persistent and intense words clamouring to be heard. Anger leaves no space for listening; it is a shield against empathy, understanding and change.
Whilst we are faced with the sights and sounds of wars, political upheaval and social unrest it can become easy to forget the voices of those whose struggles are within, whose words do not come easily, whose presence feels unseen. There are countless individuals who have turned their anger inwards; they are at war with themselves.
On Thursday 18th September, the Cambridge Samaritans discussed their mission to connect with those who feel silenced, voiceless and hopeless. In a poignant and inspiring online presentation, they articulated the power of expert listening. The spirit of volunteerism and the sense of vocation resonated profoundly throughout the presentation, centred on the vision to ensure that fewer people die by suicide. For the Samaritans, communication happens through words, but it also takes place through silence, through presence, through empathy and through the simple act of giving time and attention to another human being. This is how change can happen; this is how lives can be saved.
The statistics on suicide in the U.K. and Ireland are stark, as is the fact that The Samaritans – even with 23,000 volunteers – are overwhelmed with calls, emails and messages. Amidst the frenetic pace of contemporary life, The Samaritans remind us that we must make time for one another. As presenter Henry noted, the most important intervention is presence: “We aren’t professionals; we don’t offer counselling, but we do listen.”
All presenters emphasized the importance of empathy and emotional support, which we are all empowered to enact in our own lives through the simple act of listening.
As part of their training and engagement, Samaritans volunteers make use of the listening wheel, a means of ensuring that their response to callers is holistic and meaningful. At the centre of this wheel is silence, the heart of their work. Simply to sit in the presence of another human being without expectation or demand exercises its own power; silence is listening; it is communication. Silence resonates in these moments as a place where emotions, thoughts, ideas and memories can be processed; in this interlude, there is compassion and connection. From this space, conversations can begin, feelings can be explored and resolutions found.
The Samaritans are here to listen in a world which seems increasingly unwilling or unable to make space for this simple act of kindness. Their work is more important than ever.
An Evening with the Cambridge Samaritans: Listening to the Listeners – written by and shared by kind permission of Dr Georgina Hughes