Year: 1999 Source: Crisis, v.20, no.2, (1999), p.56-58 SIEC No: 19990336

The Samaritans- a world wide suicide intervention organization are described in this article. The author attempts to dispel the myth that the Samaritan’s “befriending” is simply a passive listening service to suicidal people that call into their centres. She describes the many ways in which Samaritan volunteers and workers respond to the needs of callers, including hospital visits, home visits, accompaniment to stressful situations like court hearings and referrals to on site clinicians.