No call for help goes unanswered

This year on the 2nd November Central London Samaritans, the founding branch of Samaritans, entered it's 68th year. For all this time our branch has been open and supporting our callers 24/7, 365 days a year without ever closing. A huge achievement with many challenges along the way, but none more so than this year during the global pandemic. 

Not only have we kept our phone lines open, we have supported our callers on email and have been a pilot branch for the new Webchat service. This service further increases the options for our callers to contact us in the way they feel most comfortable. We have kept our training going, moving it online, therefore ensuring that we have new Samaritan volunteers joining us regularly to keep the branch fully manned. We have also developed an online wellbeing programme for the corporate sector to enable them to support their staff during this very difficult time. We are about to start to support schools again, albeit online like everything else! All this delivered by volunteers and as you tell, despite everything we are all going through, the branch remains a vibrant place, full of innovation, passion and dedication.

Having got through the first very strict lockdown earlier in the year, the various countries within the UK entered more lockdowns at different times in November, as cases of Covid-19 began to rise again. The demand for our service is enormous at the moment and we are in our socially distanced phone room 24/7, responding to more callers who are finding life very challenging at the moment. As Christmas approaches we know that it is a time when feelings of stress and loneliness can feel especially acute. We will be there all through the holiday time, ensuring those who need us have someone who will listen to them and support them during their difficult time. 

It is immensely disappointing that our community Christmas fundraising activities are not able to go ahead during this time. At this time of year we usually have many choirs singing for us around the Capital raising money and awareness of our service. However we enormously grateful to you all for the kind donations we have received through GlobalGiving. You are helping our listening volunteers be there for anyone who needs us, 24 hours a day throughout the coming festive period but of course throughout the year. 

Thanks to you all from all of us at Central London Samaritans.