The Dublin branch of the Samaritans sees a dramatic increase in young people seeking support.
Figures released in the Dublin branch of the Samaritans annual report show that over 28,000 people contacted them in 1979. Of these, 5,835 were new callers to the organisation South William Street number. There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of young people contacting the Samaritians.
Samaritans director Kevin O'Higgins describes the number of callers professing suicidal thoughts, the causes of which appear to be wide-ranging.
Loneliness, despair, sexual problems, no one caring, young people feeling this isolation that nothing is worth living for.
All problems are taken seriously by the Samaritans because by primarily they are interested in the person.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 21 July 1980. The reporter is Charlie Bird.
