Connacht Tribune
Samaritans Galway handled 47,000 calls in 2017
Samaritans Galway last year saw over 47,000 calls handled by its 120 volunteers around the clock – making it one of their busiest years in its 40-year history.
Between November 2016 and November 2017 some 47,219 calls were taken – and that does not include the hundreds of texts and emails dealt with as well as the drop-in callers to the Samaritan House at 14 Nuns Island.
“We were certainly very busy – I mean we’re always busy – but since the introduction of the free phone number it has been up; around a 30% increase. Before that we had a low call number but now people can call us for free 24/7, 365 days of the year and there will always be someone to listen at the other end,” explained director Anne Wynne.
In the past year, 63% of calls answered were made outside of business hours – between 6pm and 6am – which is another key reason why this service has never waned in its use.
“The fact that most calls for help are received outside of office hours shows that Samaritans provides a vital support for people in distress when other services and sources of support may not be available.”
Working as a volunteer for eleven years – and now 18 months into a three-year term as an unpaid director – Anne recalls that people rely on the Samaritans for support for very similar issues over the years.
“The reasons people call us have remained consistent over the years – relationship problems, financial worries, stress and anxiety, loneliness and health issues.
“Even at the height of the recession we might have had more calls from people with financial problems but really loneliness is the big problem – that and mental health.”
Not one person in the Samaritans Galway operation is paid, which is unusual in the charity and non-profit industry, hit with scandals about high salaries and fraud in recent years.
It is the main factor for why Galwegians have always supported the body, whose vision is that fewer people die by suicide.
“Our volunteers are the very heart of our organisation. Their dedication is unwavering and they go above and beyond to ensure that our services is available for those in need. They are ordinary people doing extraordinary work.”
Last year the Galway branch needed €63,000 to stay open.
Through donations and corporate sponsorship, their Nuns Island base was extensively renovated over two years and was reopened last September with brighter and better facilities.
“We now have a bright welcoming building suitable for both volunteers and visitors alike.”
The fundraising committee has two main collections in the year – the church gate collections in September and the flag day which took place last April.
Its main awareness events take place on July 24 – known as 24/7 to highlight that it never closes – and on the shortest day of the year, December 21.
Anyone who ring the free helpline – 116 123 – will never get an answering machine. Volunteers also respond to emails, text or letters and are available for face-to-face chats at their Nuns Island branch, 9am to 8pm daily.
There will be a recruitment drive for volunteers in September. They must commit to three hours a week after undergoing months of training.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
