Support available 24/7 every single day of the year.
Someone is always there, around the clock, to listen to whatever's troubling you, even if life seems too difficult to go on.
You will speak to someone who is just an ordinary person but who cares about what you’re going through.
We don’t judge and we won’t tell - but we will listen.
Call us on 116 123 from any phone, for free.
Whatever’s on your mind - do contact us.
What happens when you call us?
A volunteer will answer
If you phone us, we will answer with something like "Samaritans, can I help you?"
You talk, we listen
We listen to you and help you talk through your concerns, worries and troubles.
We give you space to be yourself
We'll focus on your thoughts and feelings, and may ask questions to help you explore how you feel.
We won't tell you what you should do
We won't make decisions for you, our advice or opinions are not important for the call.
Is contacting you free?
Yes.
On the phone
This number is free to call from both landlines and mobiles, including pay-as-you-go mobiles. You do not need to have any credit or call allowance on your plan to call 116 123.
Via email
Emailing us on [email protected] is free.
In person
Visiting us face-to-face in your local branch is free.
By letter
Yes. But please make sure you include first line of our address to make sure your letter gets to us for free..
Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK’
Chris
PO Box 9090
STIRLING FK8 2SA
What can I speak to you about?
People contact us with all sorts of concerns and what might be a small issue to you may be huge to someone else.
You could be going through something new or have been struggling to cope for some time, either way, we're here if you feel you need some extra support.
If what’s getting to you isn’t on this list, please still get in touch.
Common reasons people contact us are:
- relationship and family problems
- loss, including loss of a friend or a family member through bereavement
- financial worries
- job-related stress
- college or study-related stress
- loneliness and isolation
- depression
- painful and/or disabling physical illness
- heavy use of or dependency on alcohol or other drugs
- thoughts of suicide
We won’t make decisions for you, and we'll support the decisions you make.
You are the expert on your own life. Our advice or opinions are not important.
Is the service confidential?
Yes, except for in certain situations where our safeguarding policy means we may tell someone, for example, by calling an ambulance. Read more about when we do this.
On the phone
When you call Samaritans, your number is not displayed to our volunteer. The phones we use don’t have caller display information on them.
We might ask your name, because it’s a natural question to ask in a conversation, or because of something you have said to us, but you don’t have to tell us if you prefer not to.
Via email
If you've emailed us, your email address will not be shown to the volunteer.
In person
You don’t have to tell us your name if you don’t want to. In the unlikely event that you see the Samaritan volunteer that you spoke to later on the street, the Samaritans volunteer will not acknowledge you, unless you do so first. This is to respect your privacy and the confidentiality of your visit, unless you wish to recognise it.
By Letter
We will need your name and address to reply, but to maintain confidentiality, your letter will be shredded once we have sent you our response.