A mother-of-two from Bristol has discovered profound purpose through volunteering for the Samaritans, after a single phone call to the suicide prevention charity during the Covid-19 pandemic saved her own life. Leann Caines, 37, now regularly rises around 1am, prepares a cup of tea, and leaves her sleeping family to travel into Bristol city centre, ready to support callers at their most vulnerable.
The Call That Changed Everything
Approximately five years ago, Leann found herself struggling immensely. Her family was enduring a traumatic period, and she felt strained in her relationships with her younger sisters. "I was trying to support everyone while simultaneously managing my job and caring for my young family," she explained. "I didn't really have anyone to talk to about the way I was feeling and the pressure I was under."
When she finally reached out to Samaritans, the volunteer on the line asked a pivotal question: whether she was considering taking her own life. This moment brought sudden clarity. "I didn't realise that I'd gotten to a place where I just wanted all these feelings I had to end," Leann admitted. "I always thought, 'well, I'm not doing X, Y and Z action that would lead to me dying, so therefore I'm not suicidal.' But suicide is just so much wider than that."
A Lifeline of Non-Judgemental Listening
That initial call proved transformative. "The call that I had with that Samaritan is probably the first that I've ever had in my life where somebody just listened to what I was saying," Leann recalled. "They didn't try and give their opinion. They didn't try and give me solutions. They didn't try and fix me. They just let me unload everything that I had pent up over, like, a year's worth of feelings, experiences, and just let it all out. It's so freeing."
This experience introduced her to the charity's core principle of 'self-determination,' where callers are allowed to speak freely without judgement or unsolicited advice. After her call in 2020, Leann sought talking therapy through the NHS and, by 2022, had trained to become a Samaritans volunteer Listener herself.
Answering the Night-Time Calls
Leann now frequently volunteers for overnight shifts, a time she believes is critical. "Everything feels worse at night," she noted. "When you're up in that overnight period and your brain is just being so unkind to you, you're like, 'I just want to sleep', and yet sleep feels like the furthest thing away from you."
Her commitment is deeply personal. Remembering having to wait during her own call for a volunteer to become available, she felt "even more determined to want to be there for those people" during these quiet, isolating hours. The latest data shows over 6,000 suicide deaths were registered across England and Wales in 2024, with the Bristol branch of Samaritans alone handling more than 27,000 requests for help during 2025.
From Personal Struggle to Helping Strangers
Leann's tendency to suppress her emotions had been a lifelong pattern, stemming from traumatic events including the death of a childhood friend and her father, as well as her upbringing in a military family with postings to Afghanistan. "I have got the typical eldest daughter mentality," she said. "Anything that I felt was always pushed down to care for other people."
By her thirties, family conflicts pushed her to a breaking point where she couldn't confide in loved ones. "I was like, that's not going to make me feel any better, because I will have to put on my happy Leann face to interact with them, and I'm so tired of that facade," she shared. Samaritans provided the anonymous, judgement-free outlet she desperately needed.
A New Dawn of Purpose
Now, after finishing her full-time job in risk management and putting her children to bed, Leann often volunteers through the night. She describes settling into a call room with a fellow volunteer between 2am and 6.30am, watching the sun rise as the shift ends and feeling its warmth on her back. "I love going to do it and I feel so good afterwards," she expressed.
The skills she has honed as a Listener have even improved her personal relationships, including those with her sisters. "I'm so grateful that I found Samaritans, and I'm so grateful that I'm a volunteer with them, because I get to help people, I get to help strangers, and I get to help people I care about," Leann reflected.
In her own powerful words: "It sounds like a bit of a cliche to say, but that call really did save my life."
For mental health support, the Samaritans offer a free, confidential service 24 hours a day.
