A new awareness campaign aimed at highlighting the importance of talking to someone if you are struggling to cope with anything has been launched by the Samaritans.

The ‘Talk to Us' campaign also highlights the fact that the Samaritans are available 24 hours a day for people who need them.

"Many of the people who contact us are not suicidal, but they may be struggling to cope with their problems. Our volunteers are ordinary people who provide a safe space to talk. Calls are confidential and those who contact us can be themselves. The increase in calls to Samaritans this year shows that there are many people out there who need to talk," commented Samaritans volunteer, Majella Canty.

Earlier this year, the charity launched a new number that is free to call - 116 123. This has lead to an almost 20% increase in answered calls. In March of this year, almost 39,500 calls were answered by the organisation. In May, this had risen to over 46,600.

This latest campaign is being supported by a number of well-known personalities, including actor, Peter Coonan (Love/Hate), RTE news anchor, Brian Dobson, and Sarah Ryan of the Dublin senior camogie team.

"We are so grateful to our team of well-known personalities for coming together to support the campaign, and reaching out to men in particular to encourage them to talk. We know from our work that men are often more reluctant to talk about their problems and less likely to seek help," Ms Canty said.

As part of the campaign, the Samaritans are also teaming up with the GAA and will have a presence at the Leinster and Ulster football finals.

"There is still a huge stigma in the sporting world around mental health issues, and the Samaritans' ‘Talk to Us' campaign, in addition to their recent partnership with the GAA, goes a long way towards breaking down these barriers and encouraging people to talk to others when they are going through challenging times," said Ger Gilroy, a presenter with Newstalk's ‘Off the Ball', who is also supporting the campaign.

Samaritan branches nationwide will be holding community events throughout July and August to highlight their services and the new campaign.

Volunteers commit an average of 15 hours per month and undergo a rigorous programme of ongoing training.

If you need to contact the Samaritans, call 116 123, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.