Small Talk Can Save Lives

Meet the mother and daughter train manager duo who have each made life-saving interventions Carol and Kim stenn

Sometimes, a simple conversation is all it S takes to make a huge difference. Anyone can do it - you just have to trust your instincts if you suspect that someone is in distress.

Partnering with Network Rail and British Transport Police, Samaritans' Small Talk Saves Lives campaign aims to empower the public to act to prevent suicide on the railway, and in other public settings too.

Small talk is often enough to disrupt suicidal thoughts, and Bristol-based mother-and-daughter train managers, Kim and Carol, are the proof of it.

"My family all work on the railway," explains 25-year-old Kim. "My dad is a train driver my brother works in control looking after CCTV, and my mum is a train manager just like me. She even did some of my training." 

Last year, Kim faced the unimaginable when she spotted a young woman who looked out of place and upset 

"I was at work one day, just checking tickets as I usually do, when I saw a young woman sat with her legs crunched up. I asked her if she had a ticket, but she completely ignored me," explains Kim.

"She told me she was going away because she wanted to kill herself. I knew I just had to keep talking to her and keep her with me so she was safe, and wouldn't try to run off the train and harm herself at the next stop.