Samaritans

This is the Samaritans’ Head Office so it seems as good place to post a review — well, an appreciation really — of the work that they do.
Most people probably know of the Samaritans’ main work — staffing a telephone line ²⁴⁄₇ so that anyone who needs to talk to someone can. I used to know someone who worked in a similar organisation and they said that not everyone who walked rang them was suicidal or desperate; quite a number were ringing about comparatively minor things which nonetheless seemed very big to them. But they also said that occasionally you’d get a very aggressive call, someone shouting at and abusing you etc etc — you never knew what was coming next. And of course you could never put the ‘phone down
Nowadays they offer support by e-​mail as well as by ‘phone, by letter and face-​to-​face. If ever there was a charity who do such a valuable job with people on the edge, this is it – the people behind those ‘phone lines certainly deserve our support.