Samaritans Talk To Us Campaign

The other day I was going about my business, hoping to nab a bargain for the shoes I need to start work when I crossed paths with a charity volunteer. In the past, I would usually stop and listen to what they had to say, usually before politely declining to sign up for direct debit donations. Though recently, the last few times I’ve been stopped, I walk away feel worse than I usually did, usually because the person is over aggressive (in a happy way, not threatening) with their pitch. And because increasingly they kept saying I should be able to afford to donate, even after I explained I had no job. So these days I’ve taken a stance to say a polite but firm ‘no thank you’. Which is what I did and off I went on my journey, bagging my shoes for a grand total of £1.50 (thank you charity shops!).

On my way back, I passed him again and this time he said ‘Hello again’. I decided to tell him ‘sorry, but I have no job or money so I can’t really afford to donate’ and he said that’s fine, he wasn’t looking for direct debit sign ups, could he talk to me about what he was there for. I decided to listen and he told me that the amount of calls The Samaritans receive has increased, to the point where there’s a call every 6 seconds. Unfortunately they don’t have the funds to answer every call, even though they do try their best. They are running a new campaign called Talk To Us, where volunteers will be out on the street, raising awareness for what they do and asking people to text to donate. I did it there and there and continued on my merry way.

I wasn’t going to write a post about this but after seeing all the tweets and photos about the man on the roof of Abercrombie and Fitch in Dublin, I decided I had to make a post. Luckily the man was talked down but I was sickened that people were taking photos of this, like it was some form of entertainment. And I know many other people I follow on Twitter feel the same. I don’t want to go on about this as I already have a post from a while back but there is always a way out, no matter how dark it feels. Please do try to talk to someone, a friend, family, a doctor or even a stranger like the Samaritans.

To text donate to the Samaritans, text SUPPORT to 70080 to donate £4 if you’re in the UK. Sorry Ireland, I don’t have a number for Ireland texts but if you do want to donate or even donate more than £4, you can do so through their website.

The Samaritans are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Check the website for the different ways and numbers to contact them. And if you don’t get through because they are busy, please try again later, it will be well worth it.

Darkness Into Light 2014 #BEDM

I’ve spoken briefly about Darkness Into Light in my World Suicide Prevention Day post. It’s a 5km walk and run, organized by Pieta House, a suicide and self-harm awareness organization. The idea of the walk is that you start at 4am while it’s dark and by the time you’ve finished the sun has come up and it’s light. It’s a fantastic walk, this was my 3rd time doing it and my 1st time abroad. London’s walk was in Cricklewood and the turn out was pretty good, especially considering it’s the first year and it was pouring rain! Darkness Into Light started in 2009 in Dublin, with 200 people walking that year. This year, it’s 6th year running, there were 37 locations across Ireland, 2 abroad (London and Sydney) and an estimated 80,000 people turned out, which is just phenomenal. And apparently Irish communities in New York and Boston have expressed an interest in hosting an event next year, which would be amazing.

Start and end location of the walk, The Crown in Cricklewood

Suicide awareness is so important. In Ireland, more people die by suicide than in car accidents and yet there is still such a stigma attached to mental health and suicide. Most likely you have been affected some way by suicide or at least know someone who has. This May is Green Ribbon Month in Ireland, with the aim to get people talking more openly about mental health. I think it’s a fantastic idea and hopefully it will pick up as much popularity as Pink Ribbon Month has over the years.

You can donate to Pieta House here, it’s a very worthy organization.

     

Just before leaving; Delighted to be almost finished

 

At the finish line; well deserved breakfast!