Samaritans

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Samaritans

Samaritans was started in 1953 in London by a young vicar called Chad Varah, who worked

in the parish of St Stephen, Walbrook in the City. Through his work in a number of different

parishes in the city he had seen the range and extent of the distress experienced by people

everywhere, every day. During his career he had offered counselling to his parishioners, and

he increasingly wanted to do something specific to help people in distress who had no one

to turn to.

When he was offered charge of the parish of St Stephen, Walbrook, in the summer of 1953

he knew that the time was right for him to launch what he called a "999 for the suicidal". At

the time, suicide was still illegal in the UK and so many people who were in difficult situations

and who felt suicidal were unable to talk to anyone about it without worrying about the

consequences. A confidential emergency service for people "in distress who need spiritual

aid" was what Chad felt was needed to address the problems he saw around him.

The first call to the new service was made on 2nd November 1953 and this date is

recognised as Samaritans' official birthday. However, in two key respects, the service did

not become Samaritans as it is known today until a few months later. The Daily Mirror gave

it a name which was quickly adopted by other media and the public. On December 7th,

1953, it coined the term, "Telephone Good Samaritans" and although Samaritans is not a

religious organisation, the name has stuck and become synonymous with the idea of people

being there for others in emotional distress.

Chad began to understand that the action of speaking to someone they did not know, who

would simply listen to what they had to say, could be beneficial for people in distress.

Because the volunteers were not known to the clients, they were able to be more honest

and open about their feelings and they did not feel judged as they might have by a

professional or someone they knew. In February 1954, Chad officially handed over the task

of supporting the callers to the volunteers and Samaritans, based on the principles that it is

today was born.

The service that is offered by Samaritans today is no different from that of 50 years ago.

They are there for anyone in emotional distress or at risk of suicide, to provide confidential

emotional support 24 hours a day. Over the years, the organisation has received millions

of calls from people in distress and hundreds of thousands of people have given their time

to become volunteers. Last year,they received 4.6 million calls, which were answered by

18,300 trained volunteers. Over the next fifty years, Samaritans hopes to explore other ways

in which its vision can be achieved, developing an organisation that is international in scope,

but most importantly, through continuing to offer the 24 hour confidential emotional support

for which it is best known.

Samaritans' mission

Samaritans is available 24 hours a day to provide confidential emotional support for people

who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide.

Samaritans' vision

Samaritans' vision is for a society in which:

Fewer people die by suicide

People are able to explore their feelings

People are able to acknowledge and respect the feelings of others

Samaritans' values

Samaritans' values are based on these beliefs:

The importance of having the opportunity to explore difficult feelings

That being listened to, in confidence and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate

despair and suicidal feelings

That everyone has the right to make fundamental decisions about their own life,

including the decision to die by suicide.

To contact the Samaritans

Phone:

In the UK dial 08457 90 90 90, for the cost of a local call.

Many branches also offer local branch numbers.

To find your nearest branch, please select the following external link: [ SAMARITANS ]

Write

Find it impossible to talk about your problems? Then don't. Write instead

Email : jo@samaritans.org

Or you can write to Samaritans at:

Chris
P.O. Box 90 90
Stirling
FK8 2SA

To find more information on the Samaritans go to their web site using the following link:

[ www.samaritans.org/index.shtm ]

Information reproduced here was extracted from the Samaritans web site