Shrewsbury Samaritans is encouraging people to beat Blue Monday by getting together for a cuppa today for Brew Monday.
Dubbed ‘the most difficult day of the year’, the charity is turning the third Monday in January on its head and is hoping to banish the January blues by encouraging friends, family and work mates to have a chat over a brew.
Samaritans volunteers from Shrewsbury branch will be at Shrewsbury Railway Station from 4.30pm to 6.30pm, chatting to commuters and handing out free tea bags for an essential cuppa.
Shrewsbury branch will also be at Liar Liar café in Oswestry and everyone is invited to stop in for a chat and a brew.
Located at Coleham Head by the English Bridge in Shrewsbury, the Shrewsbury branch of Samaritans currently has 65 volunteers helping to answer some of the 5.4 million calls for help that Samaritans responds to every year from people going through a difficult time. That’s a call every 6 seconds. Shrewsbury branch has handled over 14,000 calls in the last year.
Volunteers from the branch also work closely with other local charities such as Shropshire MIND, Street Pastors, CRUSE, CAB and age UK and in 2018 provided 77 talks, workshops and community events reaching over 12,000 local people.
The branch is also part of Team Shrewsbury and supports local NHS services, social services, police, fire and ambulance services as well as running monthly shifts on the railway station.
Richard Dunnill, a Shrewsbury Samaritan volunteer says: “Isolation and loneliness are one of the main reasons people contact Samaritans, so getting together for a brew with friends can provide a lift on what is meant to be one of the most difficult days of the year.”
Ian Stevens, Network Rail’s Suicide Prevention program manager said: “Brew Monday is a great opportunity for the rail industry to show its support for Samaritans and the great work they do in helping people up and down the country. Millions of people use the rail network every day and if through this campaign we can encourage them to talk about their problems over a cup of tea, we will have made a significant contribution to their lives and to the lives of those around them.”
Paul Plummer, Chief Executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the railway, said: “We’re proud to be welcoming Samaritans volunteers into our stations to give people a boost on one of the most difficult days of the year. The railway wants to support and strengthen communities and bringing people together over a cuppa is a great way to combat isolation and loneliness.”
You can join the conversation on social media using #BrewMonday and why not make a donation while you’re there, you could help save a life.
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