Central London

As the founding branch of the organisation, Central London Samaritans has been providing emotional support for people who are struggling to cope for 70 years. Our volunteers are here to listen around the clock, every single day of the year.

Our volunteers

Typically, each year our approx. 400 volunteers:

• donate 80,000 hours to run our charity – equivalent to 44 full time staff – which ensures we remain open to callers 24 hours a day, every day of the year;
• respond to over 70,000 calls for help via phone, email and webchat from people who are experiencing emotional distress, despair, or suicidal feelings;
• support up to 4,000 callers face-to-face via our branch drop-in service;
• help around 7,000 of London’s most vulnerable people including homeless people, those bereaved by suicide, people in prison and in custody;
• raise awareness with the wider community through our work with other charities, corporates, universities, and other organisations.

Some of our in-person support services were paused during the pandemic but the majority are now being re-established and, in some cases, extended so that we can give people the support they need.

Our impact

Getting a response from a real person and being given the time and space to talk things through helps people find a way through their problems.

When people contact Samaritans for emotional support, they often mention several concerns. Some of the primary concerns raised related to mental health or illness, family, isolation or loneliness, and relationship problems. Suicidal feelings are expressed during 1 in 4 calls for help that involve emotional support.

A study showed that callers to Samaritans’ helpline reported a significant reduction in distress. A week after calling Samaritans, seven out of ten callers said they felt the call had a positive impact on how they were feeling. (Markham, T., Forshaw, A. and Sutcliffe, R. (2020). Samaritans Caller Outcomes Study. Birmingham: MEL Research Ltd).

Outreach

Our branch plays an active role in the local community. We reach out to those who need us so that people know who we are and what we do – and how to contact us when they need us. Here you can learn more about our outreach programmes.

Support our branch

We rely entirely on donations from the public, businesses and other organisations. It costs around £360,000 a year to run our branch. Help us answer more calls for support at this crucial time. Any gift you feel able to give us will help us continue to reach those who are struggling to cope. Read why we need your support.

You can donate to our branch via our donation form, JustGiving, Text Giving, Enthuse, PayPal Giving Fund or Global Giving.

Events, fundraising and partnerships

• Samarathon
• Wrenathon x CLS
• London Landmarks Half Marathon 2024
• Fundraise with us
• Partner with us
• Sing for Samaritans
• Greeting cards

If you are interested, please get in touch with our team.

Room hire

Hire our affordable meeting rooms - we are centrally located, slightly hidden, and footsteps from Carnaby Street. For further information please click here.

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Who We Are

We are a small, lovely team who help run the operations at the Central London branch - get to know us! The governing body of Central London Samaritans is the Trustee Board, which is 8 members, all of whom are Samaritans volunteers. Meet our Trustees here.

Annual Reports

Read and download our reports here.

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.