Samaritans there to listen

They listen in complete confidence, every hour of the day and night, every day and night of the year.

They don’t judge – and they don’t give advice. They listen and provide emotional support for people who are going through a difficult time, experiencing feelings of loneliness, distress and despair, feelings which may be so intense that life itself seems pointless, not worth living.

These are difficult times for many people. Anxiety about jobs, worry about debt and fear about losing the very roof over our heads can cause great distress, even despair.

All kinds of loss – the breakdown of relationships, the death of a loved one, the loss of self-esteem, belief in oneself, and the loss of physical and mental well-being, can make every day a struggle and every night a dread.

Talking can help – talking in complete confidence to someone who won’t tell you what to do, but will provide an opportunity for you to describe how you feel and explore your options, so that a way through the pain, a way forward, can emerge.

You don’t have to give a name. You don’t have to think about what time it is. Our troubles seem to be at their worst, our feelings that we can’t cope at their most powerful, in the wee small hours of the morning. Samaritans are there at the end of the phone, at three o’clock in the morning or three in the afternoon, ready to listen and provide the support that can ease the burden of loneliness, anxiety, distress and despair.

And they’ll go on listening, for as long as it takes to find a way through the dark days and nights.

Samaritans can be contacted by telephone at 028 3833 3555 or 08457 90 90 90. If you’d like to speak to a volunteer face to face, you can do that by calling in to the branch at 162 Thomas Street, Portadown, between 9am and 9pm. It’s advisable to telephone beforehand, however, to make sure that a volunteer will be available to meet you.

And if the very act of talking seems too hard to do, you can e-mail Samaritans at [email protected]

Some years ago, BT told us that “It’s good to talk”. It still is. And Samaritans are there to listen in confidence, to accept, to support and to provide the time and space to find a way forward, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.