This July in a move to highlight the importance of Mental Health, the Samaritans have launched their awareness day on 24th July this year and every year moving forward. The date 24/7 is significant and has been picked deliberately to support the fact that those in crisis are never alone and that there is always someone there to support and to listen 24/7.
Who are Samaritans?
Samaritans is one of the UK and Ireland’s best-known emotional support charities. It exists to reduce suicide and emotional distress by making sure people always have someone to talk to, especially when they feel overwhelmed, isolated, hopeless, or unable to cope.
Their support is built around a few key principles:
- Listening without judgement — volunteers do not tell people what to do, minimise their feelings, or offer quick fixes.
- Confidentiality — conversations are private, except in very limited safeguarding situations.
- Availability — support is available day and night, including weekends and bank holidays.
- No issue is “too small” — people do not have to be suicidal to contact them.
- Human connection — the charity focuses on giving people space to be heard.
In the UK and Ireland, people can contact Samaritans by calling 116 123 for free, or by emailing jo@samaritans.org. Many local branches also support communities through outreach, partnerships, training, fundraising, and awareness campaigns.
Beyond answering calls, Samaritans also works to prevent suicide at a wider level. This includes campaigning for better mental health support, working with schools, workplaces, rail networks, prisons, universities, and local communities, and encouraging safer media reporting around suicide.
Samaritans Awareness Day on 24 July and again is designed to highlight that support is available 24/7. It is a chance to remind people that they do not have to face difficult feelings alone, and to encourage communities to talk more openly about emotional wellbeing and suicide prevention.
It is important to note that:
Samaritans cannot always solve someone’s problems, but they can help people feel less alone while they face them.
One of the key messages of the charity has always been that if someone is struggling, reaching out early matters — and listening carefully can make a real difference.
The History Behind Samaritans.
The history of Samaritans begins in 1953, when Reverend Chad Varah, a Church of England priest, set up a pioneering telephone support service for people experiencing suicidal thoughts or severe emotional distress. The first call was taken on 2 November 1953 from a back room at St Stephen Walbrook in the City of London. At the time, the idea was sometimes described as a “999 for the suicidal” — an emergency listening service for people who felt they had nowhere else to turn.
The idea came from a deeply upsetting experience early in Chad Varah’s ministry. As a young curate, he conducted the funeral of a 14-year-old girl who had died by suicide after believing she had a sexually transmitted infection, when in fact she had started menstruating and had no one safe to talk to. This convinced him that people in distress needed someone who would listen without shame, judgement or panic.
The name Samaritans came about after newspaper coverage referred to the volunteers as “Good Samaritans”. Although the name has a biblical origin, the charity itself is not a religious service and does not try to persuade callers towards any belief. From the beginning, the focus was on confidential, non-judgemental listening.
The service grew quickly. The second centre opened in Edinburgh in 1959, and more branches followed across the UK and Ireland. By the 1960s and 1970s, Samaritans had become a recognised national movement, built around trained volunteers rather than medical professionals. Its simple but powerful approach was that ordinary people, properly trained, could make a life-saving difference by being available to listen.
Over time, Samaritans moved beyond telephone calls. Volunteers began offering face-to-face support in local communities, and the charity developed work with schools, prisons, hospitals, railways and community organisations. In 2002, it began offering support by email, and more recently it has piloted online chat for people who prefer not to speak by phone.
The charity’s history is also linked to wider changes in how the UK understands suicide and mental health. The Suicide Act 1961 decriminalised suicide in England and Wales, which was an important shift away from punishment and towards care and prevention. Samaritans has also campaigned for safer suicide reporting in the media and for action on harmful online content.
Today, the legacy of Chad Varah’s idea is a major volunteer-led charity with more than 200 branches and locations across the UK and Ireland. Its founding principle remains the same as it was in 1953: when someone is in distress, having another person listen with compassion and without judgement can help them get through the moment.
What The Website Says.
Today and every day…
Every 10 seconds, we answer a call for help.
We’re here for people when it matters most. Every hour. Of every day. For everyone who needs us. And every life we can help to save.
