Highs and lows are a part of every person’s life. We all have our own share of stress and troubles to deal with. But a lot of us find it immensely difficult to cope up with these problems. We feel overwhelmed and at loss. And during such moments some of us even begin to have suicidal thoughts. What such a person usually needs is someone to talk to. Someone to vent all the troubles to. Someone who would not judge you for what you say. Someone who would not turn your sorrow into gossip news. Often that feels like a lot to ask for when you are in your rock bottom. But it is not. There are people always to help.
Samaritans Mumbai is one such organization that aims to lend their ears to the people in need. The organization has been actively working in the field of mental health and striving to support those in need since 1968. It is a fully qualified member of Befriender India, under the umbrella of Befrienders Worldwide, and works with its sister organizations in India and around the world. They have many volunteers working in this organization, doing their part in trying to help people who struggle with suicidal thoughts.
Mr. Krishna Kumar, a software professional, is one such volunteer who took up the role as an Outreach Volunteer at Samaritans. He joined the Samaritans as a volunteer in the year 2017. He had experienced a lot of ups and downs in his corporate career, and these situations were often quite challenging both emotionally and mentally. However, with the support of his family, friends, and books – he was able to learn more about himself and emerge stronger from these situations. These situations helped him realize the importance of mental health and well-being and he wanted to contribute towards the same.
The organization believes in acceptance and active listening as measures to help people. They assist people in the following ways –
- Helpline
We often just need a person to talk to and this helpline provides you just that. You can call them any day between 5 pm to 8 pm on +91 84229 84528 / +91 84229 84529 / +91 84229 84530 or email them at talk2samaritans@gmail.com. The forum ensures complete anonymity and confidentiality between the speaker and Samaritan
- Face to face
If you feel more comfortable talking to someone face to face, you can also take an appointment to meet the volunteer at the center.
- Professional unit
In case a person feels that he needs professional help, they can also have free counselling sessions with a professional between 10am to 4pm from Monday to Friday
Over 36% Indians suffer from depression and roughly 2,00,000 people commit suicide every year and most of these people are between the age group of 15-29 years. In India, there has always been a stigma regarding mental health and very few people do talk about it openly. This is the same reason why people often struggle to share their mental health concerns with others, which in turn leads to piling up of the problem till we begin to feel that we cannot take this anymore and we end up taking drastic decisions like suicide. Organizations such as Samaritan gives people the ray of hope they need during such dark times. If you begin to have such thoughts and you are unable to talk to anybody about it, reach out to the Samaritans. They are always happy to help.
We are given this life because we are strong enough to live it.
Please visit – http://www.samaritansmumbai.com/
