Glastonbury Festival

Welfare

There are a lot of people particularly interested in your welfare! These range from stewards, Site Safety, Info point and other Festival staff, the Police, through the church tent and those working in the healing fields, to the medical staff and the specialised welfare services. This page is about the specialised welfare services : you will find info on most of the other people mentioned elsewhere on the website.

There are three main welfare services : Waggonshed Welfare, Green Welfare, and The Samaritans.

Waggonshed Welfare.
Based, unsurprisingly, in the waggonshed by the farmhouse, this is the main centre for practical welfare support. If your problem is practical rather than medical, try here first. A good place to go if you lose all your kit, for example - not least because they also handle Lost Property during the festival. They also look after found children after 8pm (found kids are looked after in the Kidz Field until that time.)

Green Welfare.
Situated just beyond the railway line at the entrance to the Green Fields, Green Welfare is a good place to head for if you have any problem and are on that side of the site.

The Samaritans

Festival Branch of Samaritans have been going to Glastonbury since 1974, and will be here once again this year offering 24 hour emotional support. In previous years they have spoken to many upset, depressed or suicidal people, and are fully expecting the same this year.

But why Samaritans at a festival? Glastonbury is about having a good time, isn't it?

At any event where there are thousands of people having a great time, there will inevitably be some who are not. Sometimes people arrive hoping to forget about their problems, but the sight of so many seemingly happy people can make them feel even worse. Others can arrive feeling relatively OK, but something happens during the event which leaves them feeling low.

"We have a team of volunteers who work shifts throughout the day and night" explained Angus, a volunteer with the branch who will be at Glastonbury this year. "It's hard work but it's worthwhile, as there really does seem to be a need. What's rewarding for us is that many people - who would never consider telephoning or visiting a local Samaritan Branch - do seem comfortable speaking to us here."

The Samaritans' tent (with prominent green and white "SAMARITANS" banners and huge flags) will be situated in the Main Markets area, near Whitelake Bridge, between the Pyramid and Other Stages. Callers can discuss anything that's getting them down, no matter how serious or how trivial, and the conversation is completely confidential.

Whether people feel suicidal or not they are given the opportunity to talk through whatever is on their mind with a non-judgmental volunteer who is trained to listen. Samaritans respect a caller's decisions; despite the name, Samaritans are not aligned with any religious organizations and do not impose their own political, philosophical or religious beliefs on people who contact them.

"People speak to us about as many different problems as there are different people!" said Angus, "Some feel close to suicide, others don't. Obviously we want everyone to have a great time, but if they don't, we hope they'll come and speak to us."

See the Festival Branch website at http://www.festivalsamaritans.org. The admin address for Festival Samaritans is: [email protected] Samaritans national telephone number is 08457 909090. Or if you'd rather "talk" via email the address is: [email protected].

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