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 almost 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;
• support up to 4,000 callers face-to-face via our branch drop-in service;
• help over 2,000 of London’s most vulnerable people including those who are homeless, those bereaved by suicide, prisoners and people in custody;
• raise awareness with young people through our schools and university outreach programme reaching up to 4,000 pupils and students;
• raise awareness with the wider community through our work with other charities, corporates and other organisations reaching over 1,000 people.

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 to find a way through their problems.

When people contact Samaritans for emotional support, they often mention several concerns. In 2019, some of the primary concerns raised related to isolation and loneliness, family, mental health or illness, physical health or illness, and relationship problems. Suicidal feelings are expressed during 1 in 4 calls for help that involve emotional support.

In a recent study, callers to Samaritans’ helpline reported a significant reduction in distress. A week after calling Samaritans, eight 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).

Support our branch

We rely entirely on donations from the public, businesses and other organisations. It costs around £400,000 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

• NEW: London Landmarks Half Marathon 2023
• Take on a challenge
• Fundraise with us - be part of #TeamSamaritans
• Sing for Samaritans
• Greeting cards

If you are interested in any of these events, please get in touch with our team.

Room hire

We are now open for bookings. Our Large meeting room is available for hire from Monday to Friday between 9am to 5pm. For further details and to arrange a viewing of the space, please get in touch with our team.

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Trustees

Meet our Trustees here.

Who We Are

We are a small, lovely team who help run the operations at the Central London branch - get to know us!

Our Partners and Donors

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our partners and donors, our volunteers can be there for anyone, 24 hours a day, every day of the year - 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.