THE
Samaritans are receiving on average 450 text messages per day from
people in distress — with the vast majority from young people.
The stark scale of the number of young people in
despair was revealed yesterday, as the charity said it had also seen an
increase in the use of contact via email.
The Samaritans’ text service has only become available within the past year.
The director of the Dublin branch of the Samaritans, Eileen Foley, said it was clear young people were more likely than older people to use new media to contact the charity.
Although receipt of all texts are acknowledged by the Samaritans, volunteers don’t have access to the phone number from which the text messages were sent.
However, Ms Foley said they were able to establish as a result of follow-up contact that most users of the text service were young people, many still in school.
"There are a lot of young people using the text service. What we have noticed is that a lot of them refer to being ‘in crisis’. The sense of crisis which they are feeling appears to be quite acute," said Ms Foley.
The Samaritans claim a noticeable trend among callers during 2010 has been the intensity felt by them with the level of distress being expressed more pronounced than in previous years.
"Over the past year, many more people are encountering extreme financial distress which very often causes significant additional pressure and stress in people’s well-being and family relationships," said Ms Foley.
She also observed the recent spell of bad weather was likely to result in a growth in the number of callers over the forthcoming holiday period which is traditionally already one of the busiest times of the year for the Samaritans.
"The return of the extreme weather conditions has further exacerbated a sense of isolation and loneliness for many people especially for those whose health and mobility issues pose a challenge," said Ms Foley.
President Mary McAleese yesterday learnt firsthand about the concerns of callers when she paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the Dublin branch of the charity to offer her personal thanks, as well as on behalf of the Irish public, to volunteers for their work.
The president said there was no real surprise that there was an extra demand for the service provided by the Samaritans given the enormous pressure under which people are finding themselves.
Earlier this month, the Samaritans reported the overall number of calls to the service had risen by 6% over the past year.
- The Samaritans helpline which operates on a 24/7 basis is 1850-609090. Contact by text on 087-2609090 and by email at jo@samaritans.org
The Samaritans’ text service has only become available within the past year.
The director of the Dublin branch of the Samaritans, Eileen Foley, said it was clear young people were more likely than older people to use new media to contact the charity.
Although receipt of all texts are acknowledged by the Samaritans, volunteers don’t have access to the phone number from which the text messages were sent.
However, Ms Foley said they were able to establish as a result of follow-up contact that most users of the text service were young people, many still in school.
"There are a lot of young people using the text service. What we have noticed is that a lot of them refer to being ‘in crisis’. The sense of crisis which they are feeling appears to be quite acute," said Ms Foley.
The Samaritans claim a noticeable trend among callers during 2010 has been the intensity felt by them with the level of distress being expressed more pronounced than in previous years.
"Over the past year, many more people are encountering extreme financial distress which very often causes significant additional pressure and stress in people’s well-being and family relationships," said Ms Foley.
She also observed the recent spell of bad weather was likely to result in a growth in the number of callers over the forthcoming holiday period which is traditionally already one of the busiest times of the year for the Samaritans.
"The return of the extreme weather conditions has further exacerbated a sense of isolation and loneliness for many people especially for those whose health and mobility issues pose a challenge," said Ms Foley.
President Mary McAleese yesterday learnt firsthand about the concerns of callers when she paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the Dublin branch of the charity to offer her personal thanks, as well as on behalf of the Irish public, to volunteers for their work.
The president said there was no real surprise that there was an extra demand for the service provided by the Samaritans given the enormous pressure under which people are finding themselves.
Earlier this month, the Samaritans reported the overall number of calls to the service had risen by 6% over the past year.
- The Samaritans helpline which operates on a 24/7 basis is 1850-609090. Contact by text on 087-2609090 and by email at jo@samaritans.org
SIC: IEX/IE