Chad Varah was on Anglican priest. In 1953 he buried a girl
who had killed herself. The coroner, at her inquest suggested that she might not
have done this desperate act if someone had been around who would have listened
to her troubles. Chad Varah decided to use his London church and a telephone to
listen to people who were in despair. He put a small advertisement in the local
paper and in the first week he had 27 calls. Soon he was listening and advising
people 12 hours a day. There were so many people waiting in his outer office to
see him that he asked some of his congregation to come and provide cups of tea
for them. Then he found that often people who had come into the outer office in
great distress had become different people by the time they reached him, and
some did not even wait to see him because one of the helpers had befriended
them. So he decided to train a group of his congregation so that they could be
more helpful in the way they befriended the clients. That is how The Samaritans
were formed.