Samaritans' help for troubled teens (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Samaritans' help for troubled teens

8:49am Saturday 15th September 2007 in Swindon By Gazette Reporter

The Swindon branch of the Samaritans is offering emotional support by text to reach more teenagers and young adults.

Volunteers have been trained to read abbreviated text language but most replies will be in full spelling.

The new service is being made available with the help of a £26,000 donation from mobile phone company, Motorola.

Samaritans branch director Richard Moss said: "We all know how much young people choose texting as their preferred method of 'talking'."

Sir David Brown, chairman of Motorola, added: "As a major manufacturer of mobile phones we recognise the importance of SMS in the community, particularly among young people who sometimes find it hard to give voice to their worries."

The Samaritans said its volunteers would reply to anyone who sent a text with a confidential, non-judgemental text reply, giving emotional support and aiming to respond within 10 minutes.