Darlington

Darlington Samaritans

Please call our free helpline 116 123 for support.

Darlington branch continue to offer support by telephone, as part of a network to offer 24/7 cover. We are all unpaid volunteers, whether on the phones or as support workers. We rely on kind donations and grants to keep us going. (for administration for website email [email protected]

We regret that the face to face facility is closed, however you can always call our freephone number: 116 123 to talk to someone anytime; day or night. We are here for you, talk to us.

Volunteering with our amazing team at Darlington Samaritans

Join us as a volunteer and make a real difference to those who are finding life challenging. We are always looking for new volunteers both to listen and support the running of the branch. We run two training courses at year, usually Spring and Autumn.

The next recruitment and training will be interviews in September 25 and training in October 2025.

The dates are Saturday 11th October, Saturday 18th October, Saturday 25th October, Saturday 1st November, and Saturday 8th November.

There will be a no obligation information session, beforehand on Sunday the 31st of August for you to find out more about us, at

Then there would be interviews, references, DBS checks, and the next stage would be a five week course, in the centre and online, followed by mentoring.

Due to the nature of the calls we take, we have to successfully prepare you for any call. This means that the training is in depth, and sometimes intense. Therefore it takes time and commitment to complete, it may not be for everyone, but it is very rewarding.

Our trainees say that they grow as a person, and can use the useful skills learned in other areas of their lives. It's satisfying to help people cope.

You will be given mentoring and support, and it usually takes around a year to become a fully fledged Samaritan, and in that time, you will be expected to do regular weekly shifts in the centre. It's important that you have the time to fit this into your life.

If you interested, please follow the volunteer link under support us, to apply. We look forward to welcoming you at the Darlington branch

If you have applied, then you should receive a welcome email, however it may go to SPAM, so please check your spam, and whitelist the email address.

Thank you.

Legacy and free will writing service

Please consider leaving something in your will to help us carry on this valuable work. See the video link, https://youtu.be/-g_55amjyoA or to look at information www.samaritans.org/Write-Will/For-Free. Thank you.

Text to Donate

Please text DARLOSAMS to 70085 to donate £5 or to DARLOSAMS2 to donate £2. Texts cost £5 or £2 plus your standard rate message, and you will be hearing about our work. If you wish to opt out of this, please text DARLOSAMSNOINFO to 70085. Thank you.

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 policy

Our Ben's Epic Run, he WAS the last man standing

Our volunteer Ben did the brutal last man standing run called The Sting Backyard Ultra, where you run 4.167 miles around a set course every hour, until you can't. The course was near the scenic Easby Abbey and Richmond Station, on a very warm day

The quicker you run, the more time you will have to recover within that hour, but the quicker you run, the more tired you will be. So it could be quite strategic too. 

200 runners set off at 12 noon Saturday, 12th July continuing until Sunday. By Sunday morning, there were 5 left, and Ben won it at 4pm Sunday afternoon after 28 hours and 112 miles.

THE STING BACKYARD ULTRA | Team Caterpillar Running Club, Richmond North Yorkshire

His fundraising page is up too, link to follow is https://samaritanscommunity.enthuse.com/pf/ben-potter

Thanks to all who donated, and also those who came and cheered him on at the lovely Brompton on Swale Holiday Park. A shout out to the organisers, the running club at Richmond Team Caterpillar,who did an excellent job.

Thank you,