Sumaitri - A Crisis Intervention Centre for
the Suicidal & Depressed
Sumaitri Befrienders India is a registered
NGO and is the Delhi Branch of U.K. based International Organisation,
The Samaritans which has more than 400 branches across 38 countries.
The Samaritans movement of U. K. started in the 1950's with the aim of
providing emotional support to people going through a crisis and/or feeling
suicidal/depressed. This is achieved through taking visits by such persons
at our Crisis Intervention Centres and taking calls on our Suicide Prevention
Telephone Helplines. Another important aim is to create awareness in society
regarding Suicide, Depression and related problems.
In India, besides Delhi, The Samaritans also have branches in Mumbai,
Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Thrissur, Pondicherry, Ahmedabad, Calcutta
& Secundrabad and all these are organised under a National Body called
Befrienders India. In Delhi, Sumaitri has been providing these services
to people in need for the last 15 years. On 17th August 1987 it was registered
by the Registrar of Societies vide Regn. No. S 18032 of 1987. Its trained
volunteers man the Centre and the Helpline 365 days a year from 2 PM to
10 PM on weekdays & 10 AM to 10 PM on weekends. The volunteers give
their services without any financial compensation whatsoever. Till date
we have received more than 100,000 contacts from persons in need of our
services.
Sumaitri volunteers do not provide "Instant Counselling". Although people
do refer to our work in general as Counselling but it is not really so.
Counselling involves advising a person on how to go about his life, which
we never do. We operate by the philosophy that everyone is more than capable
of taking his/her own decisions but at various points in our life we do
need support - a shoulder to cry on - which is exactly where we come in
- we provide that shoulder - we listen to the person with Empathy - not
simply offer Sympathy - never passing judgement on their deed/predicament
- neither do we offer absolution - the persons deeds may have indeed been
wrong - but we deal with the person not the problem - we talk to the person
on the emotional plane - how the problem is affecting them as a human
being - how it is affecting their life and how they are coping with the
issues at hand. We offer what we call Listening Therepy and we do it by
what we call "Befriending" the person. Our belief is that in a moment
of crisis, more than advice a person needs understanding & emotional support
- which is what we provide. By diffusing the callers anxieties, we hope
that that the person will not take an extreme step like taking his/her
own life which is why our centres are described as Crisis Intervention
Centres / Suicide Prevention Centres. We work in the area of Suicide Prevention
& try to do this by providing emotional support to people in a time of
crisis. There are two broad types of people who we mainly provide services
for - the first would be people who do not have any one in this world
who they can even talk to in a time of crisis, so we are available for
them to be able to share their problems with us. Secondly even if they
do have family/friends whom they can talk to - some problems are so personal
that they may feel hesitant to share it or even scared that it may be
used against them - again we are there for such people - they can safely
share their problem with us since we guarantee total anonymity & confidentiality
- besides it can be easier to talk to a stranger about certain things
than it is with people who we know.
So if you know anybody who is undergoing a crisis and could do with talking
to someone - please do refer them to us.
Click here to download an English e-Brochure about Sumaitri
Click here to download a Hindi e-Brochure about Sumaitri
Click on the box above to view a short film about Sumaitri.
Tip : If viewing over a slow connection, after the film starts playing, click the pause button till the progress bar above the play button fills up all the way. This will allow the film to load fully and you will be able to view it without any breaks.
Please note that the Address & Tel. no. mentioned in the film have changed. Refer to the Contact us page for the new details.
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