Colchester

Coronavirus update

In the light of the Coronavirus pandemic we regret that all face-to-face contacts with visitors to the Colchester Samaritans Centre at Walsingham Road, as well as contact through outreach activities such as talks and other outside activities, have now ceased. This will be reviewed week to week. We are sorry for this inconvenience, but we hope you understand that this is for your wellbeing and that of our volunteers.

Our 24 hour phone service will continue as normal during this difficult time.

Read the Cochester Gazette interview with Gaynor Bell, director of Colchester Samaritans for more on how the local branch is continuing to offer its support service.

Branch re-opening

We are excited that our lovely centre is nearly finished with its refurbishment. We can't wait for it to be open properly and show our local community what an amazing space we've created - perfect for our book fairs, local events, and for our volunteers to complete their vital task of helping people in distress.

Book Fairs resumed on Saturday 27th May

More details here : Colchester Samaritans Book Fairs

Welcome to Colchester Samaritans

The Colchester branch of Samaritans first opened its doors at Vineyard Street in May 1964, supporting the community in Colchester and the surrounding CO post code areas. In 2011 we moved to our current premises in Walsingham Road.

We currently have over 100 listening volunteers, some having been with us for over 40 years. We also have over 30 support volunteers who help with a vast range of duties to ensure the ongoing running of the branch. We open for around 70% of the hours in a week including through the night, supporting callers who contact us suffering with emotional distress and despair in a number of ways: by phone and also face-to-face.

We work in partnership with Essex Partnership University Trust, the Military Corrective Training Centre, Colchester Borough Council, Greater Anglia and Colchester Pride, as well as providing talks in schools, community and health groups. We also regularly travel to various parts of the community to help raise awareness and offer emotional support, including in Clacton, Harwich, Sudbury and Walton-on-the-Naze.

Volunteering

Like all branches we are run entirely by volunteers. We always need new listening volunteers and even if you feel listening is not for you, we still welcome people who have other expertise and experience to offer, for example in the area of fund raising.

Listen to two of our volunteers talking about their experience: See Chloe and Tom's videos.

If you are interested in learning more about volunteering at Colchester Samaritans, please contact us via the link below.

Donations

We rely entirely on donations from the public, businesses and other organisations. It costs around £60,000 a year to run our branch. You can help us raise funds in a number of ways:

• Text COLCH to 70450 to donate £5*
• Donate via our JustGiving page
• Sign up to The Essex Lottery, where 50% of ticket sales come directly to our branch
  
  *Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message and you’ll be opting in to hear more about our work and fundraising via telephone and SMS. If you’d like to give £5 but do not wish to receive marketing communications, text COLCHNOINFO to 70450.

And if you regularly shop online:

• sign up to EasyFundraising and raise money for Colchester Samaritans whenever you shop online at places like John Lewis, Waitrose, ebay, M&S, Argos and many more retail outlets.
• or if you maily shop via Amazon, consider supporting us via Amazon Smile. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Colchester Samaritans or the charitable organization of your choice.
  
  But remember to choose 'Colchester Samaritans' when asked which charity you wish to support.

OUR PRIVACY STATEMENT
At Samaritans, privacy is at the heart of what we do. We are committed to protecting your privacy, and the personal information that we hold. Read our privacy statement here.

MORE ABOUT OUR BRANCH

To find out what we have been doing recently have a look at our Branch News, below. You can also follow us on Twitter and YouTube to keep up-to-date with what we're doing and share our messages.