💚 24/7 Samaritans Awareness Day 💚 Thank you!

The 24th of July (24/7) is a reminder that Samaritan’s offer a service available 24 hours a day, 7 day’s a week to support anybody who needs it, whenever they need it.
We’re beginning to talk about Mental Health more, but there remains a stigma, (even more so for men), preventing people from feeling like they’re able to open up. Mental health challenges can rear their head at any time, and so the services that the Samaritans provide are crucial.
A bit of history
Samaritans has been about since 1953. It was first set-up in a backroom in London and the helpline was known as “999 for the suicidal”. Not long after this, a newspaper coined the phrase “Telephone Good Samaritans” in one of their articles. A notable name that stuck and within a few months the first team of volunteers stepped up. Over the last 70 years, the Samaritans has received over 134 million calls. Today, Samaritans has over 23,000 volunteers and expanded to 200 sites.
Albeit a cornerstone of the services offered, Samaritans don’t solely offer a telephone support service. They also work within the community offering face-to-face support and attending local events and in 2023 introduced an email support service.
So, how can we show support to the Samaritans today?
- Sharing awareness of the fantastic work that the volunteers do to provide support to people when they need it most.
- Wear green which is the official colour of the Samaritans.
- Host an event to raise funds to support the charity. This could be via a community hub, your workplace or school to name a few.
- Volunteer. This could be with Samaritans themselves, or a different mental health charity.
- Reach out to your loved ones to show support. Let them know you’re there for them when they need you.
A huge thank you to all the volunteers at Samaritans over the years for all of your hard work to provide support to people who need it most. 💚
Comments
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My problem is Holly, I dont know how to ''reach out'', I have always, all my life been the broad shoulders in my family. I have for 67 years been expected to be there for everyone, for at least three generations, so yep I mean everyone, helping myself is very alien to me 😊
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@mrsBB - how would you advise a friend in your situation? It's incredibly difficult to step back from your own situation; I too am always there for my family, but reaching out for any sort of help doesn't diminish what you do, it just might give you much needed resources for you to be able to continue to support your family so very well.
When I was in hospital 9 years ago, there was a lady in the next bed I'd been chatting to during the day. She told me she'd fallen & fractured her spine, so had to lay flat. During the night she became delusional & agitated. Myself & a lady who'd just had a knee replacement stayed with her all night. In the morning I said to the lady who'd had a knee replacement, 'you were a Good Samaritan,' as I knew she too was in considerable pain. She replied, 'I am one.'
That was my only encounter with a Samaritan that I'm aware about. Their help comes in so many different & varied ways. If they reach out to so many people, then you can safely reach out to them for whatever reason.
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Chiarieds has a made a very good point there @mrsBB what would you say to someone if they came to you with the same question? I'm betting the answer would be along the lines of "Just pick up the phone and dial" That's the first step, don't worry about what happens when they answer, they're used to people not knowing what to say. And they're there to listen, not judge. 😊
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Bless you @mrsBB, I couldn't agree more with the replies. It sounds like your a really important person to so many around you which is lovely but just make sure you spend some time looking after you too. 💛
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Talking of the Samaritans I read this article yesterday
It seems like mental health support is being cut down more and more these days which is such a shame
Interestingly, a few months ago I was really having a bad night, and thats putting it mildly…So for the first time in my life I decided to pick up the phone to call them as I heard so many positive stories in the past of how they have been a lifeline for people and a great help and support in the past (not recently but about 5 years ago)
Anyway I dialled the number and was on hold for 30 mins…After 35 minutes of being on hold I gave up!
Ive noticed recently that mental health support is getting harder and harder to get as the days go by. Services that were once so available are not so available now..Sad
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2l23ylv46o
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