Samaritans to close at least 100 branches across UK and Ireland

Samaritans has 22,000 listening volunteers who answer calls and messages from people in mental health crisis at 201 branches across the UK and Ireland. Photograph: Brian Anthony/Alamy

Samaritans has announced plans to close at least half of its 200 branches across the UK and Ireland, move volunteers into larger regional hubs and pilot remote call handling, in a shake-up that has left some volunteers dismayed.

The mental health charity told volunteers in a video last week it hoped “within the next seven to 10 years, our branch network will have reduced by at least half” and that it would move to “fewer but bigger regions”.