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Charity Profile
Worthing Samaritans Bringing hope to life By Lynn Smith For fifty years Worthing Samaritans has been offering people a safe place to talk, at any time, in their own way and about whatever is bothering them. From its current location in Lennox Road the Worthing branch is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week – providing emotional support to anyone who needs to talk to someone anonymously, regardless of age. Set up nationally in 1953, the Samaritans began opening branches throughout the United Kingdom and in 1969 Worthing and District Samaritans opened in rooms in Rivoli Buildings, Chapel Road. The President was Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk and in that first year 175 people called the branch. The Lennox Road centre opened in 1976 and demand for services has grown year on year. In 1982, calls to the branch topped 10,000 for the first time, the increase in demand being attributed, at least in part, to recession and high unemployment. The Worthing Samaritans branch celebrated its silver anniversary in 1994 and the following year it received over 14,000 calls and was recognised by the Mayor in Worthing’s New Year’s Honours. In 2008 the branch began supporting the Samaritans Prison Listening Scheme in HMP Ford. In the branch’s fortieth year it began supporting callers via text messaging. In 2010 a new sort of Outreach began, when the branch began working with staff at a local school, delivering Emotional Awareness sessions to around 350 senior pupils, and the following year it began working more closely with GP surgeries, to encourage GP referrals to Samaritans. Free calls were launched in 2015, also the year the branch joined Twitter. Significantly 2015 was the year that the Worthing branch became an affiliated branch of the Samaritans, a charity in its own right, rather than operating entirely under the central office umbrella. Last year saw the branch celebrating its 50th anniversary with a number of events being held throughout the year, including a visit from HRH Duchess of Kent
