By Rob Clarke | Fundraising Manager
It is estimated that one in four UK adults will experience mental health problems throughout the course of a year with around 10% suffering from depression. Suicide accounted for 6,708 deaths in the UK in 2013.
Volunteers at Central London Samaritans provide confidential, emotional support for anyone in distress. By providing a safe place for people to talk about whatever's troubling them our volunteers often provide a lifeline for people who are struggling to cope and have nowhere else to turn.
Mental health stigma is reducing across the UK but there is still more work to do and cuts to mental health services mean that many people who recognise they need help have long waiting lists to receive support.
Central London Samaritans provides a 24 hour service every day of the year to provide emotional support for people in distress. We support people face to face, by telephone, SMS or email.
We are also proactive in reaching out to vulnerable groups across Central London known to be most at risk, including the homeless community, young people, men and women in custody and LGBT+ people.
By providing a listening ear and a safe place to talk people can explore their feelings without fear of judgement or repercussions. This process allows people to gain clarity of their situation, feel empowered about the next steps they need to take and feel less anxious about their future.
In January to April 2016 our volunteers have already responded to 27,645 calls for help from people struggling to cope.
Our outreach work has seen us provide emotional support and raise awareness of our work with a further 17,342 contacts.
We recently received some feedback from one of our callers:
“I spoke to one of your volunteers in person today. I just wanted to say thank you as she was able to turn me around from the horrible place I was in today. I faced my demons and spoke to the person who had upset me afterwards and I feel much better about the situation now. I don't feel cured of my problems but I feel in a much stronger position to face them than when I woke up this morning.” - Male caller
Thank you to all of our supporters who are making it possible to provide ongoing support for people in distress and suicidal crisis.
Together we can ensure that no call for help goes unanswered.
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