Samaritan volunteers celebrate Samaritans Awareness Day tomorrow

Samaritans volunteers are raising awareness of the free, emotional support they provide, available to everyone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Tomorrow, Wednesday July 24, Athlone and Midland Samaritans will be celebrating Samaritans Awareness Day, highlighting the life-saving emotional support its volunteers provide. The date of the event 24 July (24/7) was chosen to highlight the fact the charity’s volunteers are available 24/7.

Branch director, Anne McGrath, said: “Nationally, Samaritans volunteers respond to a call for help every 61 seconds from people facing all sorts of challenges. In 2023, Samaritans volunteers spent more than 500,000 hours responding to calls for help. Around 2,300 people volunteered their time for Samaritans last year. Sadly, we also know that not everyone feels able to reach out for the support they need or may not feel they have someone to turn to.

"That’s why Samaritans Awareness Day aims to remind everyone that our volunteers are here to lend a listening ear at any time of day or night, whatever you’re going through. It’s more important than ever that people don't wait until crisis point to seek support and to share how they are feeling.”

Anyone can contact Samaritans FREE, at any time, from any phone on 116 123, even a mobile without credit. This number won’t show up on your phone bill. You can also follow Samaritans on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.