Over 22 thousand calls answered by Athlone and Midlands Samaritans last year

Volunteers at the Athlone and Midland Samaritans Branch answered just over 22,000 calls in total last year.

The figures are contained in the annual Samaritans Ireland Impact Report 2021 which was launched in recent days by Mental Health Minister Mary Butler.

It shows that nationally there were almost 1,000 calls each day nationally to the organisation as people continued to struggle with Covid and the lifting of restrictions.

The Athlone and Midlands Samaritans Branch is based in Athlone, and it covers Westmeath, Offaly, Longford and Roscommon.

Over 90 people volunteer with the service which celebrated its 30th anniversary in Athlone in May of this year.