Samaritans
Things on your mind?

About Samaritans


Who are Samaritans?

Samaritans is a confidential emotional support service for anyone in the UK and Ireland. The service is available 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide.

If you live outside of the UK and ROI, visit www.befrienders.org to find your nearest helpline.

Volunteers offer support by responding to phone calls, emails and letters. Alternatively people can drop in to a branch to have a face to face meeting.

Across the UK you can call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 for the price of a local call. In the Republic of Ireland call 1850 60 90 90.

You can also email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org, write to Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA or if you are deaf or hard of hearing use the single national minicom number 08457 90 91 92.

The service is offered by 17,000 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support. There are 202 branches of Samaritans in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

"There's very few places you can go to in the world where you can pick up a telephone and another human being, no matter why they're doing it, will listen to you unconditionally. If you want to pour out in a phonecall, they will listen for hours."

Samaritans caller

Find out more about Samaritans

Frequent Questions

Can I get in touch with Samaritans?

What happens when I contact Samaritans?

What kind of things can I contact Samaritans about?

Is Samaritans a religious organisation?

Will I ever get an engaged tone?

How do I know if the service provided by Samaritans works?

Shouldn’t I talk to friends and family instead?

I'm under 18. Will you inform my parents/guardians that I got in touch?

What other organisations might be able to help me?

What if I have a complaint?

Questions about the service

How much does it cost to run Samaritans?

Do many people use you?

How can I be a volunteer?

How can I make a donation?

When was Samaritans set up and why?

What is the structure of Samaritans?

 

Administrative contact details

If you have any questions for our General Office about any of the material on this website, please telephone +44 (0)20 8394 8300. Email admin@samaritans.org. Or write to:

The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell
Surrey
KT17 2AF

Fax: 020 8394 8301

Please address any queries about the website itself, including link requests, to: webmaster@samaritans.org