Agency - The Samaritans On Cape Cod And The Islands

The Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands is a non-denominational, non-profit volunteer organization whose mission is to provide emotional support to those who are lonely, depressed, or suicidal. In the 36 years since our founding, we have trained over 800 Samaritan volunteers at our center in Falmouth.

As members of the oldest and largest suicide prevention network in the world, our volunteers provide non-judgmental active listening to callers in need on our crisis hotlines, older adults in our Senior Outreach Program, and survivors in our Safe Place support groups for those who have lost someone to suicide.

Description:
Our crisis line volunteers are the heart and soul of our organization. Like the callers, volunteers have widely differing backgrounds. Samaritans are not therapists, counselors, or crisis managers. We are here to share people’s pain and let them go away feeling better.

We help people find solutions to their own problems by giving them the opportunity to unburden themselves and explore the options available to them. We listen with empathy and compassion to those who need to be heard and who need to hear a consoling human voice. Our volunteers are simply one person listening to another person.

ALL YOU NEED IS THE CAPACITY TO CARE, and we will help with the rest. Potential volunteers are interviewed at our Center in Falmouth and fill out a brief application form. The next step is to attend our training classes which are held every odd-numbered month.

There are volunteers all over the world who say, "This is the most meaningful thing I do in my life."

History:
The Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands was established in Falmouth in 1977 by Monica Dickens, great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. With the help of the Army Corps of Engineers in the early 1980's, Monica spearheaded the campaign for the erection of steel barriers on both the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges, virtually eliminating suicide from those sites. To this day, the signs with our hotline numbers are posted at these entryways to the Cape.

The Samaritans was first founded in London in 1953, and there are now 400 Samaritan Centers in 42 countries.

Contact people:

Stephanie Kelly, Executive Director, (508) 548-7999, (email) Jessica McHugh, Assistant Director, (508) 548-7999, (email) Kelly Welch, Administrative Assistant, (508) 548-7999, (email)

Address:

P.O. Box 65 Falmouth, MA 02541

Web Site: http://www.CapeSamaritans.org

Directions:

Will be provided upon contact.

Miscellaneous Information

Does this agency require a CORI (Criminal Record Offender Information) check of its volunteers?
	Yes

Last updated on May 1, 2013