Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow Samaritans is one of the busiest of the 201 branches of the Samaritans organisation, we provide a safe place for people to talk when they are in crisis, distressed or struggling to cope. We are staffed by volunteers and are entirely self-supporting, and so rely on donations and sponsorship to meet the costs of running our services.
Anyone can contact us. Our 150 volunteers provide our core listening service around the clock every day of the year whenever someone needs to talk. Last year 40,000 people contacted us by telephone, text message, email, letter or called in to see us at our base in 26 Junction Road, Ealing W5 4XL.
And we truly mean ‘anyone’; our listening volunteers receive comprehensive training for them to offer the same level of active listening to callers in distress regardless of the caller’s ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, career, wealth, religion, or situation. All callers receive the same level of attention and care regardless of their method of contacting us or what is troubling them.
We also have an active outreach programme in the West London community. Our volunteers engage with people at schools, hospital, universities, places of worship, prisons, sports grounds, shopping centres and events such as carnivals, fetes, and music festivals. And we work with Network Rail to reduce suicides on railways in and around Ealing and Southall.
I’m sure you will agree that the work our listening volunteers is amazing.