Someone makes a call to Samaritans every six seconds. Every 11 seconds, someone feels able to start talking about how they’re feeling. Every 52 seconds, Samaritans receives a contact from someone who’s feeling suicidal.
Last year, Samaritans responded to 5.7 million calls, emails, texts and face-to-face contacts. 53,000 of these were in our Cornwall branch alone.
We need your support so that we can be there when you, your loved ones or friends need to talk. We’re all volunteers, receive no external funding and need £50k a year to keep our branch open. Samaritans is a safe place for anyone to talk without fear of judgement, at a time and pace that suits them, and we’ve come a long way.
In 1953, Samaritans was just one man with a phone. Chad Varah, a young vicar, had been so moved by the suicide of a 14-year-old girl that he started this first ever telephone helpline. Today, 20,000 volunteers in 201 branches throughout the UK offer emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The organisation has no religious affiliation.
Cornwall Samaritans’ branch is a stand-alone charity. Affiliated to the national organisation
and based in Treyew Road, Truro, it has been running since 1970. Our 100 volunteers undergo some of the best training in the voluntary sector before joining the team that answers the phones day and night.
Samaritans is one of the country’s most trusted charities with a national profile and a local base at the heart of our community. We would welcome forming a partnership with a local business or organisation as it would undoubtedly be of great benefit to us both.
www.samaritans.org/branches/samaritanscornwall-truro e: trurosamaritans@gmail.com p: 01872 222321 T: @cornwallsamari
