2008, July 10

Funeral for a Friend headline concert to support Bridgend community

Date: 10^th July 2008

Contact: Claire Duncan

Phone: +44 (0)208-394-8345

Email: c.duncan@samaritans.org

Welsh band Funeral for a Friend are headlining ‘Concert for the People’ at Bridgend Recreation Centre on Thursday 10th July. The music event is in memory of the young people in the area who have taken their own lives in the last 18 months and also to raise awareness of Samaritans, the emotional support charity.

Funeral for a Friend, who come from the county of Bridgend, have taken time out of their schedule as they write their fourth album to headline the concert. ‘Concert for the People’ has been organised by Bridgend residents Lewis Ward, Matthew Ford and Nick Coghill to provide a message of support for local people who have lost loved ones to suicide. Lewis said: “I think it’s great that Funeral for a Friend are supporting Samaritans, they are really keen to help out and be part of a fantastic event.”

Samaritans continues to reach out to young people in the area by running its ‘Feet on the Street’ campaign, where volunteers go out into Bridgend on Saturday nights to provide face to face emotional support for people in the area. Samaritans volunteers also continue to visit local schools to provide support and encourage young people to share how they are feeling rather than bottling problems up.

Paul Stockton, Samaritans’ Regional Representative for Wales, said: “Samaritans is continuing to support the local community. What is important, at this very difficult time, is that young people who are struggling emotionally or are worried about anyone close to them should seek support immediately. Usually this support will come from friends or family, but there are sometimes reasons why this isn’t possible, so it’s important to know that Samaritans is available 24 hours a day by phone or by e-mail and is completely confidential.

Funeral for a Friend will be supported by Caesars Rome and Save Your Breath at ‘Concert for the People’. All proceeds from the concert’s ticket sales will go towards Bridgend Samaritans to enable it to continue its 24 hour emotional support service and to reach out to people who are experiencing emotional distress.

For more information go to www.bridge-concertforthepeople.info

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Notes to editors

It is the aim of Samaritans to make emotional health a mainstream issue. Samaritans' vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged. Samaritans believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings.

Samaritans is a registered charity, founded in 1953, which offers 24-hour confidential emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. The service is offered by 16,800 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support. Across the UK, you can call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 (1850 60 90 90 in the Republic of Ireland) email jo@samaritans.org, write to Samaritans at 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. Log on to www.samaritans.org for more information. Calls from BT will be charged at up to 4 pence per minute at all times. A call set-up fee of 3 pence per minute applies to calls from residential lines. Mobile and other providers' charges may vary.