No call for help goes unanswered

Thank you for your continuing your support for Central London Samaritans.

Every week, on average, 14 Londoners choose to end their own lives. Every day, with your support, we enable our highly trained volunteers to give a person in distress and despair the time to talk, the warmth and emotional support to explore their feelings, uncover solutions and perhaps……. discover a way forward to avert a personal tragedy and the devastating loss of a loved one, a friend or a colleague.

Over the summer of 2017 London experienced two horrific tragedies, Central London Samaritans played a vital role in helping and supporting people in distress and despair during this time.

On the Friday following the terrorist attack against pedestrians on London Bridge, and customers in Borough market, Samaritans were present from 7am to 7pm at London Bridge station, distributing leaflets and ‘Talk to Us’ cards to help and provided support for around 1,200 people.

The following Monday, Samaritans attended the Vigil and made further contacts with people in distress. Two weeks later, at Borough Market, contact was made with 194 people;  leaflets and cards were distributed to local pubs, restaurants and market stall holders to support  staff and customers.

At Grenfell Tower, Samaritans were present at Clement James community centre for 10 days after the fire, making contact with 450 people. Visits are now being made to the hotels where survivors of the Grenfell tragedy are staying.

 Our work at Central London Samaritans is ongoing, with your support we are able to continue to provide a 24 hour service by telephone, face to face visits, SMS and email every day of the year.

A donation of £7 donation today will enable Samaritans to respond to two calls for help.

£69 will support our phone lines for one hour during which Samaritans will help 15 people, 4 of whom will be experiencing suicidal thoughts.

£175 will help experienced volunteers to reach out to some of London's most vulnerable homeless people and those affected by the London Bridge and Grenfell tragedies.

Thank you for continuing to support our campaign to ensure that no call goes unanswered for Central London Samaritans. Our volunteers continue to offer a safe space for people to talk through whatever is on their mind providing confidential, emotional support for anyone in distress.

Central London Samaritans provides a 24 hour service every day of the year for the people of London and beyond. It has never closed and so provided an unbroken chain of essential support for over sixty years. Today we support people face to face, by telephone, SMS or email.

The availability of a safe place for an individual to talk about whatever's troubling them can be a lifeline for someone struggling to cope and feeling they have nowhere else to turn.

In the first quarter of 2017 our volunteers responded to 108611 calls for help from people struggling to cope, and we supported over 5000 face-to-face visits to the branch.

In the first week of June we celebrated Volunteer Week 2017 – a time for us to acknowledge our amazing team of over 500 volunteers who keep Central London Samaritans open 24/7, 365 days a year! CLS volunteers give over 100,000 hours of their time annually, that’s the equivalent of over 11 years’ volunteering happening every year.

This July our volunteers are looking forward to, once again, being part of London Pride Festival 2017, by supporting and raising awareness within the LGBT+ community.

Thank you to all of our supporters who help ensure that no call goes unanswered.