Contact us
116 123 free from any phone
0330 094 5717 local call charges apply
46 Marshall Street
London W1F 9BF
Where we work
Westminster, K&C, Camden, City of London, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Islington
How we can help
We train prisoners to become listeners and then we offer them support on a weekly basis as part of our national prisons programme
Volunteers go out to visit young people from the ages of 6 up to 21 to talk about the importance of looking after our emotional health
We have listening volunteers available around the clock every day of the year to offer confidential emotional support
Accessibility information
- Accessible toilets
- Wheelchair accessible
We're currently unable to see visitors face to face, but we continue to support callers by phone and email.
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 around the clock, every single day of the year.
Our volunteers
Each year our approx. 500 volunteers:
- donate over 95,000 hours to run our charity – that’s over 11 years…
- respond to almost 80,000 calls for help via phone and email
- support over 4,000 contacts face to face
- help over 2,000 of London’s most vulnerable people including the homeless, the LGBT+ community, those bereaved by suicide & people in custody
- raise awareness with young people through our schools and university outreach
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. You can donate to our branch via our donation form, JustGiving, Virgin Money Giving, Text Giving or PayPal Giving Fund.
Events & fundraising
Given the circumstances, most of our events and fundraising activities have been either cancelled or postponed. As long as social distancing practices will remain with us, we have decided to deliver our events virtually. It is very different from what we have done in the past but we are confident that it'll be just as exciting.
- Brew Monday
- Gift a Pizza in aid of Central London Samaritans
- Fundraise online with us
- Sing for Samaritans
- NEW: Hackney Half Marathon
- Music for the Mind
- Take on a challenge
- Mark Haddon for Samaritans
- Greeting cards
- No call for help goes unanswered
If you are interested in any of these events, please get in touch with our team.
Room hire
Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus outbreak our room hire service is suspended until further notice. We are following the governments guidance and will be back when it is safe.
Follow us here to keep up-to-date with what we're doing and share our message on Twitter.
Trustees
Please click here to see our CLS Trustees.
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.