Katie Colombus

Samaritans was founded in 1953 by vicar Chad Varah, who wanted to offer a listening service to anyone who was struggling and contemplating suicide. There are now more than 20,000 Samaritans volunteers in 201 centres across the UK and Ireland, taking calls, emails and text messages from people who need to talk about what they’re going through. Rather than being a charity associated with suicide, they are working to become a friendly and reassuring presence that helps each of us to reach out when we need help, in the hope of preventing people reaching the crisis point that we might traditionally associate with them as a charity. Campaigns such as The Big Listen, Real Stories, Real Lives and Brew Monday are a part of this drive.