Spring 2025 Newsletter

From football stadiums to livestreams, we’re encouraging people to open up during tough times – and your support means you’re right there with us.

Three UK and Samaritans are teaming up once again to encourage football fans to open up. Research commissioned by Three UK found two-thirds of football fans have struggled with their mental health – but 94% have never spoken about it to anyone. #TalkMoreThanFootball is set to change that. The campaign encourages fans to talk to loved ones, teammates or Samaritans. Help spread the word by sharing #TalkMoreThanFootball with your team!

We owe a huge thank you to Sean McLoughlin, aka YouTuber Jacksepticeye, for raising £500,000 for Samaritans during his online festive fundraiser, Thankmas. Sean’s livestream from Los Angeles was viewed 1.7 million times and included an interview with Sonya Trivedy, our Executive Director of External Engagement. Thousands of people donated while they watched, so now we can listen to more calls for help – over the phone and through our online chat.

Thanks to you, we’re here for more people who need to talk, day or night.  

Blue Monday was invented by a travel company to boost its sales in January. That’s why each year we encourage people to connect over a cuppa instead.

This Brew Monday, Samaritans volunteers held over 150 events in their local communities. Brew Monday trended on social media and we even held an event in parliament. Three UK also sponsored Brew Monday and encouraged the nation to take three minutes – the time it takes to brew a cuppa – to connect and check in with someone. Together, we brought the positivi-tea to a day that has no reason to be blue.

Three in four people who die by suicide aren’t in touch with mental health services in the year before they die. But many are in touch with frontline workers like doctors, A&E nurses, teachers and job centre staff. That’s why we’ve launched our new United with the frontline campaign, to make sure chances to support people who are struggling aren’t missed.

We’re calling on governments to:

• Pay for and put in place suicide prevention training across frontline workforces.
• Make sure frontline staff have the resources and support they need to attend training and put their learning into practice.

Right now, frontline staff are overstretched. Many don’t have the support or training to spot and help someone in crisis. But all of us have real power to hold governments to account – and tell politicians we all deserve better.

"Last year I saw a man by the road who I could see was upset. I approached him cautiously and said, ‘Are you OK? I’m a little bit worried about you.’ At first he was silent but gradually he started to talk. It turned out his girlfriend had left him and he was having problems with his daughter. He had gone to the same place the week before, but his daughter had called then, which forced him to go home. But things had got worse and he didn’t feel he could cope anymore. I told him I was here for him, and although it was a bad time right now, it didn’t mean things would always be like that."

"Eventually he let me move a little closer. We started talking about fishing and he pointed over to a lake he used to fish at when he was a child. We stayed there a while longer, then he said, ‘It’s getting a bit late, isn’t it? Shall we head back? Will you come with me?’ I gave him a massive hug and we walked back to the car together. He said, ‘Thanks for stopping and caring’, but I hope if I was ever in a situation like that, someone would stop and check on me. A few weeks later, the man found me on Twitter. He thanked me for saving his life."

Read Gary's story

“I’ve never worked a shift where I’ve not taken a mental health call,” says Declan, who answers emergency calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). “Calls from people attempting to take their own life or self-harm are really common.”

In those situations, every word counts. But the SAS found staff weren’t always sure how to offer the best support when people were in distress. So SAS contacted our Samaritans Training and Engagement Programme (STEP) team, and after going through their needs we created a customised course covering listening skills and emotional health. So far, we’ve delivered training to more than 100 staff at the Scottish Ambulance Service

Listening to save lives

Previously, Declan worried when a caller said they were suicidal. “It was hard to deal with,” he says, “when the call ended and you think, ‘I wonder if I said the wrong thing?’”

But the training explained what can help – and what might not be helpful. “The focus was on how to validate callers’ feelings without saying that you know how they feel. This was a mistake I used to make a lot,” he remembers. “I thought using my experience would be a positive thing, but it can have a negative impact because it invalidates the way the person is feeling.”

The training helped his own wellbeing, too. “There was a focus on how to look after yourself, reflect on conversations and speak to people about things you’re struggling with,” he says. “I learnt the importance of learning to cope with a call after you’ve taken it.”

And what really sets the training apart, Declan believes, is, “it teaches you how to listen – and I mean listen properly, so you understand what someone is saying and can communicate to them that you understand.

“The training helped me to do that,” he smiles. “I’ve always wanted to make a difference, and I feel that I can do that now.”

Bring STEP to your workplace

Our varied programmes help all kinds of organisations train their staff to spot and support others struggling to cope. Find out how STEP could help you at work

Like many of us, Tayler has a lot of sides to her personality. She’s known as the clown of her friendship group, always ready to make people laugh. But she’s also no stranger to anxiety.

“I’m often called Piglet from Pooh Bear,” Tayler says, “because I’m constantly worrying and preparing for the worst. And the ups and downs I’ve had personally with my mental health have been around either not really liking myself or being too critical of myself.”

Tayler first called Samaritans 11 years ago. She appreciated that the listening volunteer wasn’t trying to offer advice. “Sometimes people can be a bit biased if they know what you’re talking about or they know you,” Tayler says. “But I found speaking to someone impartial who didn’t know me the most helpful. It was an objective point of view. The calls would calm me down. I realised that I deserved to be listened to.”

Coping through bereavement

Samaritans’ support was particularly valuable after Tayler lost a childhood friend to suicide. And that tragedy also made her determined to help others open up. “I’d known him since I was four years old,” she says, “and just before his 18th birthday he took his own life. It was a huge shock to us all – I was devastated.

“Since then, I try and make sure that particularly all the men in my life are speaking. You don’t need to have this bravado of, ‘Oh, I’ve got it all together and I’m the provider and I’m the man blah, blah, blah.’”

Tayler even completed the London Marathon for Samaritans last year – and we’d like to say enormous thanks for supporting us in this way. “I think Samaritans embodies what I’m trying to make sure people close to me are doing,” she explains, “encouraging people to talk and reminding them they aren’t alone.”

"We’re so much more capable of overcoming our challenges than we realise. We don’t get to choose the issues we face, but hopefully people will take inspiration that it is possible to tackle and overcome the hurdles in front of us."

"My absolute highlight has been the monthly community runs I set up. Seeing so many people of all running abilities brave the weather early on a Sunday morning to run along with me, some doing their first marathons, has been really impactful.

"My fiancée Annabel ran her first ever marathon in March, five years to the day from when she attempted suicide. Samaritans was there for her, so that was a very emotional day. My uncle also took his own life in 2017. It was a tragedy but I wanted to bring some meaning from it. That’s how my connection with Samaritans began."

"The hardest part was two or three weeks into the challenge. I could hardly run because of pain in my ankle. The anxiety about possibly not being able to run meant I didn’t sleep. I remember thinking, ‘I’ve got 11 months to go!’

"There have been a lot of sacrifices. I’ve seen my friends and family a lot less than I normally would and I’ve had to work less. But it was a privilege to do this. The positives far outweigh any negatives."

Everyone who takes on a challenge for Samaritans is a hero. 

Thanks to James and to everyone who fundraised for us in 2024. Find out about challenges you can take on this year

"I became a Samaritans volunteer about four years ago. It had always been in the back of my mind that I would like to put myself forward. But in the end the driving force was Samaritans being there to help me.

"My ex-partner would frequently make attempts to take their own life. Each time, the police would contact me and I would go and offer support. One night I decided to call Samaritans, and I was able to talk openly about the fact I didn’t want to go through this anymore. They didn’t give me the answers, but that call helped change my decisions about that situation.

"After this, I thought I had something to give and wanted to help others. To just be there to listen, like someone had done for me. Now I feel honoured that someone opens up to me and tells me what’s going on in their life, and hopefully move forward in some way."

Learning to listen 

"The training is great. I’ve been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, so I tend to overthink things more. I thought that would be a hindrance, but the training really helps you to leave things at the door.

"Being a Samaritan has really helped me develop my listening skills. In life we always want to fix things – it’s built into us. It’s nice to learn how to listen but stay silent and go through a process that will hopefully make someone feel better.

"The most rewarding aspect is just feeling honoured that someone opens up and tells me what’s going on in their life. They’re then hopefully able to move forward afterwards. I feel lucky to have Samaritans around me. It feels like a family."

Thinking about volunteering? 

If you think volunteering could be right for you, find out more here. There are lots of ways to volunteer, and we’ll give you all the support you need.

An Eternal Star Tribute Fund is on online place where you, your family and friends can celebrate the life of someone special. You can share cherished memories, photos and thoughts, light virtual candles and send virtual gifts. Over time, your fund could grow into a treasure trove of memories dedicated to your loved one.

Through your Eternal Star Fund, your family and friends can also choose to fundraise for Samaritans. It’s a permanent home for all your memories, which you can visit anytime and reflect on how much you have achieved together.

And all funds you raise through your Eternal Star Fund will help Samaritans be here to listen 24/7, 365 days of the year.

Create your Eternal Star Fund