Get involved: Samaritans’ Lived Experience Panel

At Samaritans, the importance of listening is understood, so they are creating more opportunities for people with personal experience of using their services, and of suicide and self-harm, including those bereaved, to share their views and experiences.

Samaritans’ Lived Experience Panel – this panel is for people with lived experience of feeling suicidal, attempted suicide, experience of self-harm, bereavement by suicide, or experience using Samaritans services and offers people the opportunity to shape and inform Samaritans’ work by completing surveys and short polls. Being a member of the Samaritans Lived Experience Panel is voluntary and panel members can choose which surveys or polls they would like to complete.

Who can be part of the panel?

It is available to those with lived experience of the following:

  • self-harm
  • Suicidal thoughts or attempts
  • bereavement by suicide
  • use of Samaritans services

The panel is open to those aged 18 years and above.

It is open to anyone residing in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Samaritans staff and volunteers are also eligible to join the panel if they have relevant lived experience.

Alongside Samaritans’ Lived Experience Panel, Samaritans creating opportunities for people with lived experience to work with the team on different projects.

If you have any questions about Lived Experience Involvement at Samaritans, please contact  myexperience@samaritans.org