Published at 01 July, 2021 06:00.
Talk to us is a relatively new campaign initiated by Samaritans, every year in July their branches in the UK and Republic of Ireland hold local events to raise awareness that Samaritans are here to listen to anyone who’s struggling to cope, at any time of the day or night.
Samaritans was founded by Chad Varah, a vicar. Throughout Chad’s career as a vicar he had offered counselling to his parishioners, and wanted to do something more specific to help people contemplating suicide.
On 2nd November 1952, Chad answered the first ever call to a brand new helpline for people contemplating suicide. Back then in Chad’s own words, the service was just ‘a man willing to listen, with a base and an emergency telephone’, which is a far cry from the organisation of 20,000 volunteers it is now.
July is Talk to Us month but on 24th July it is 24/7 Samaritans Awareness Day where there will be more ways for Samaritans to offer help, keep an eye on their social media to find out more.
Find your local Samaritans branch here:
https://www.samaritans.org/branches/
There are many ways we can help:
Quit online - https://yorkshiresmokefree.nhs.uk/pages/quit-online
Our online quit tool will allow you to create your own personal profile and will support you on a daily basis through your quit journey.
Telephone support - our advisors are on hand to answer any questions or provide additional support as you need it. You can call 0800 612 0011 (free from landlines) or 0330 660 1166.
Visit our frequently asked questions section to find out more: https://yorkshiresmokefree.nhs.uk/frequently-asked-questions
