Samaritans Ireland is celebrating 30 years of service this year.
The charity says that it answers one call every minute in Ireland, and that it provides a free space for those struggling to cope, and who need someone to listen without judgement or pressure.
Samaritans also say that they are not only there for moments of crisis, but for when people want to take early action to prevent a crisis.
Speaking to KCLR News, Local Volunteer Colette Shannon said that the service prides itself on listening.
“The biggest commitment is probably the initial commitment when you become a volunteer, because obviously you have to be trained in a specific way, and that training period can take up to three months, between the initial training programme, and then going into individual branches, taking live phone calls and being mentored by existing volunteers, who have experience of taking phonecalls. Oftentimes, we don’t do the talking, in fact, we listen.”
