Aberdeen

Welcome to Aberdeen Samaritans

The Aberdeen Branch of Samaritans was established in 1960. It was the 6th Branch to open in the UK after the founding of the Samaritans in London in 1953.

The early days of the Branch were in Huntly Street then we moved to Bon Accord Street and finally in 1971 the Branch moved to its current premises in Dee Street.

Much has changed over the 60 years since the Branch was established yet much remains the same, our vision is still to reduce deaths by suicide however, we will always provide support to anyone in distress or despair. The Branch contains around 90 volunteers from a variety of places in and around Aberdeen, and a mixture of ages and backgrounds!

The telephone remains the core of the service but callers can still drop in to meet a volunteer face to face and will soon be able to access our service using online chat. We continue to provide support to anyone in distress or despair.

The income of the branch is reliant entirely on fundraising and donations.

How to Reach Us

If you're going through a hard time and need someone to talk to, you can reach a listening volunteer by calling Samaritans on 116 123.

If you prefer to reach out over email, Samaritans' address is [email protected].

And, if you would like to speak to a volunteer in person, then as of 1st May 2023, the Aberdeen branch has reintroduced our face to face service. You can visit us any time from when we open, to 45 minutes before we close. Because the volunteers on duty will also be taking calls, please be aware that we will not always be able to answer the door right away, but we will get there as soon as we can. If a volunteer is available for face to face, you can sit and talk with them in our visitor's room. If a volunteer isn't available for face to face at that time, we will be happy to make an appointment for you instead.

To find the entrance for our Samaritans branch, go through the black door at 60 Dee Street, pictured above. Follow the corridor that leads outside, and to the right you will find the main entrance, a glass door displaying a Samaritans logo, with a buzzer to one side.

How We Help

The Aberdeen Branch continues to be committed to providing emotional support to those who reach out to us by phone or email.

During 2022, our volunteers:

• Donated 7114 hours to our listening service
• Delivered 1419 listening shifts
• Took 14,879 calls
• Replied to 616 emails
• Supported the Branch through admin, training, and recruitment
• Offered support for 3 Listener schemes at HMP Grampian as part of our prison outreach programme
• Provided talks and workshops for secondary school students as part of our school outreach programme

Volunteering in Aberdeen

Our volunteer numbers fluctuate over time, but as of January 2023 our services are provided by 80 listening volunteers.

Additionally, the running of the Aberdeen Branch is supported by 7 volunteers working on IT, Property, Health and Safety, Selection, and Administration.

If you would be interested in joining our branch as a volunteer...

We are always looking for new volunteers, whether in listening or support roles. For further details, please email us at [email protected] or click the "find out more" button below!

Social Media

You can follow us on Twitter to stay updated on what we're up to.

Structure, Governance and Management

Aberdeen Samaritans is a Branch of Samaritans, a company limited by guarantee with charitable status registered in England and Wales, number 757372, charity number 219432 and whose registered office is The Upper Mill, Kingston Road, Ewell, Surrey KT17 2AF.

Aberdeen Samaritans was registered as a SCIO (SC048304) by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) on 17 April 2018. Affiliation to the national Charity took place on 18 December 2018. The address of Aberdeen Samaritans is 60 Dee Street, Aberdeen AB11 6DS.

The governing body of Aberdeen Samaritans is the Management Committee made up of 7 Trustees.

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.