Samaritans to mark Awareness Day on 24 of the 7th
Athlone Midland Samaritans are marking Samaritans Awareness Day by raising awareness of the free emotional support they provide.
Samaritans Awareness Day takes place on Friday, July 24, (24/7), marking the fact that Samaritans are there for anyone struggling to cope, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on freephone 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.ie.
The date is an acknowledgement of the round the clock nature of the service, by which anyone can contact Samaritans free of charge at any time, from any phone on 116 123, even a mobile without credit. This number won’t show up on phone bills.
Anne McGrath, branch director, said: “Samaritans Awareness Day gives us an important opportunity to remind people that Samaritans are here 24 hours a day for anyone in crisis or struggling to cope, on freephone 116 123. Samaritans vision is that fewer people die by suicide and that this can be achieved through the power of human connection.
“It remains a challenging time for many people, and we want everyone to know they are not alone. Our volunteers are here at any time of day or night, whatever someone is facing.”
To mark the day, Athlone Midlands Samaritans call on members of the community to consider signing up to support people who might not have anywhere else to turn. If you have just a few spare hours a week they would like to hear from you.
Based at 3, Court Devenish, Athlone, the Athlone Midlands branch currently has 98 volunteers, but they are always looking to recruit more people to ensure they can continue to offer the service to the community.
Ms McGrath said: “By working together to support people struggling to cope, our branch is a rewarding place to spend your time.”
Samaritans volunteers in Ireland answered almost 350,000 calls for help last year. If you think you might be interested in becoming a volunteer please visit samaritans.ie/volunteer.
• The Samaritans are available on Freecall 116 123 24hrs.