In the last twelve months, Ennis Samaritans answered 40,995 calls for help.
These call details were released in the 2015-2016 Impact Report covering Samaritans’ work in Ireland, which was launched recently. According to the report, a total of 606,816 phone calls were made to the service, 13,444 emails were sent, 2,081 face-to-face visits were made and 17,311 text messages were received.
More than one in three calls to Samaritans’ national helpline were received between 6pm and 12am and 63% of all calls to the service are made between 6pm and 6am. In particular Mondays between 8pm and 9pm was the most common time for people to reach out for help.
A local action plan is needed to tackle the growing rates of suicide across the country thinks Deirdre Toner, Executive Director of Samaritans Ireland. “The fact that most calls for help are received outside of office hours shows that Samaritans provides a vital support for people in distress when other services and sources of support may not be available. Over 450 people in Ireland take their lives each year. Action needs to take place at a local level to ensure that people and communities at risk can access the support they need.
“We are calling on the Government to make suicide reduction a priority and in particular to ensure that local action plans on suicide, which address the needs of communities, are in place across the country and that people can access appropriate crisis support 24/7,” Ms Toner said.
Depression, mental health problems, financial worries, loneliness, anxiety, stress along with family and relationship problems continue to be the main issues people contact Samaritans in relation to.
Demand for Samaritans service has increased dramatically since the organisation launched a new free to call number in 2014. Volunteers have increased the number of hours listening they provide by 38% since then.
Claire Cremmin, Director of the Samritans Ennis branch commented, “People who are struggling often feel isolated and alone. They may want to talk about their suicidal feelings but don’t know where to turn, or fear that they may be judged. Over 450 people in Ireland take their lives each year. Many of those people may feel like they don’t have anywhere to seek support. Our volunteers work hard to provide a space for people in crisis when there may be nowhere else to turn.”
She appealed for volunteers to help out this Christmas. “The increased demand for our service means that Ennis Samaritans are always looking for new volunteers. Anyone who is interested in becoming involved can find out more about what is required by contacting www.samaritans.ie Samaritans volunteers in the Ennis branch will be there round the clock for anyone who feels they need to talk, in confidence, about whatever’s getting to them – on Christmas Day, Stephens’ Day, New Year’s Day, and every other day of the year.
“Christmas and New Year can be especially hard for many people and we know that loneliness and isolation are both factors in this. If you’re finding the festive season difficult, we’re here to listen and you can always talk to us about what’s on your mind,” she stressed.
Samaritans in Ireland has a 24-hour helpline which operates 365 days of the year. They emphasise people do not need to feel suicidal to call. Tel: 116 123 Email: jo@samaritans.org Web: www.samaritans.org