Every July, Samaritans branches across the UK and Ireland hold local events to talk about the services they offer in their communities. This raises awareness of The Samaritans and also enables people, who may not have had the information or courage before, to reach out and ask for help.

The Samaritans are there for anyone who needs someone to listen, 24/7, without judgement or pressure. Find out what your local branch is doing during Talk To Us.

The Samaritans was founded over 65 years ago with the specific aim of helping people who were contemplating suicide. Today their vision remains the same with the added aim of understanding and challenging the social inequalities that impact suicide. Their contribution to understanding suicide is significant, as the only organisation that collates suicide statistics for the UK and the Republic of Ireland and that publishes them annually with the aim of understanding and challenging this.  For example, they have found that debt, deprivation and inequality can increase suicide risk with men being 3 times more likely to die by suicide than women in the UK and 4 times more likely to do so in the Republic of Ireland.  They propose that tackling inequality should be central to suicide prevention and support should be targeted to the most disadvantaged groups who are likely to need it most.

You can see some facts and statistics here

To achieve this, the Samaritans offer telephone support, to anyone in emotional distress, who is struggling to cope, whether or not they are feeling suicidal.  Their core values are to offer a confidential space in which they aim to listen without judgement and with empathy, and to help people in distress to explore their feelings and gain understanding of their difficulties.

Counselling holds similar values and provides ongoing support through regular sessions at the same time and place and with the same counsellor.  This allows trust to build and facilitates a deepening of understanding and insight that can enable change.  Traditionally long-term counselling has been private and costly and NHS provision is not always available and when it is, it is brief. 

To address this inequality, Riverside counselling service (RCS) was founded in 1989 to provide access to affordable counselling for all those in the community, regardless of background or circumstances.  RCS recognises that discrimination operates consciously and unconsciously in our society, which means that some people have greater access to opportunities than others.  Our core belief is that all people are treated with dignity and respect and we are creating an organisation where inequalities are challenged, and we anticipate and respond positively to different needs and circumstances.

If you would like to support the provision of high quality counselling in the local community, please visit our donate page

Take extra good care of yourself and everyone else and please do visit our website for updates.