'Difficult decision' to close Samaritans branch after more than 50 years

An elected representative has called for "answers" after the closure of the Omagh, County Tyrone, branch of the Samaritans charity.

Founded in 1953, the Samaritans focus on preventing suicides by connecting trained volunteers with people who are struggling. The charity estimates it answers a call for help every 10 seconds.

The Omagh branch, which had about 20 'active' volunteers, had been part of the community for more than 50 years, with many volunteers being there from its infancy.

In a statement, the charity said "due to circumstances beyond anyone's control" a "difficult decision" was reached to close the branch.

Last year, the BBC learned that dozens of branches had voiced concerns over the plan to close more than 100 branches across the UK and Ireland.

At the time, the Samaritans said that having more than 200 branches "is not sustainable" and hindered them from providing the best service.

On Thursday, a Samaritans spokesperson told BBC News NI the closure of the branch "is not related to Samaritans future-proofing programme, which is not currently looking at services in Northern Ireland".

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