Access
Here when you need us
We’re working to meet the high demand for our services so that people will be able to access our support whenever they need it and get through to us in a way that works for them.
You called, we answered
In 2022, there wasn’t a single second when we weren’t on the phone to someone. Samaritans volunteers responded to almost 3 million calls for help over the phone. We spent almost one million hours answering calls for help from over 200 branches and locations throughout the UK and Ireland.
Every 10 seconds we answered a call for help by phone, email, online chat, letter or face to face. Around 23,000 people volunteered their time for Samaritans throughout the year to make sure we could be here to listen 24/7.
Online chat
Sometimes it’s easier to talk about how you’re feeling online, rather than over the phone. In 2022, Samaritans volunteers responded to over 46,000 calls for help through online chat, and spent over 27,000 hours responding to messages in real time.
We are working to gradually roll out this service to keep up with demand, so our online chat is still operating on a small scale with chat shifts on 265 evenings in 2022, with 77 branches and nearly 2,000 volunteers delivering this service.
Of the people who gave us feedback about the service, 94 percent said that they would use online chat again, and over 80 percent reported a reduction in their level of distress as a result of talking to a Samaritan online.
It’s very reassuring to be able to talk with someone online who listens and is able to understand my issues, whatever they may be. I was also able to collect my thoughts and say exactly what I really needed to – any brief pauses in the conversation didn’t feel like awkward silences, and I didn’t feel any pressure to fill any gaps that you do in a spoken conversation.
Fiona, who contacted Samaritans by online chat
Welsh language helpline
Os hoffech gael cymorth emosiynol yn Gymraeg, mae gennym Linell Gymraeg y gellir ei ffonio am ddim. Mae hefyd gennym wasanaeth ysgrifennu llythyron Cymraeg.
If you would like emotional support in Welsh, we have a Welsh Language Line which is free to call. We also have a letter-writing service in Welsh.
Our dedicated Welsh language line has been supporting Welsh speakers since 2010. We have now extended our correspondence service so that anyone who needs emotional support in Welsh can send a freepost letter, as well as calling our free Welsh language line.
Prison Listeners
Our trained prison Listeners provided face-to-face support to other people in prison 35,609 times last year. There are Listeners in almost every prison in the UK and Ireland. This year we launched an internal volunteer recruitment campaign in prisons and more than 100 people expressed interest in becoming Listeners.
Ireland and Northern Ireland celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Listener scheme this year. The Listener scheme is now operational in every prison in Ireland, with 15 Listener schemes in 13 prisons supported by over 80 volunteers from Samaritans branches. In Northern Ireland, the programme is operational at Magilligan and Maghaberry prisons, and Samaritans provide weekly support to prisoners in Hydebank Wood Secure College and Women’s Prison.
Samaritans volunteers, Cardiff