Samaritans of Singapore Limited (SOS) is dedicated to providing confidential emotional support to individuals facing a crisis,
thinking about suicide or affected by suicide. Non-religious and not for profit, we are a national organisation comprising full-time staff and volunteers.
ABOUT SOS
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2020
- SOS launched Care Text service to offer an alternative text-based messaging service through Facebook Messenger.
- Partnered with Orygen Australia in its global initiative to bring the #chatsafe guidelines into Singapore.
- Organised the first #HOWRU Virtual Walkathon as a way to rally the community to spread a combined message that “we are not meant to journey alone” in our mental health journey.
2019
- SOS commemorates 50 years of service.
- Recognised as Facebook safety partner and continues to contribute to the global safety advisory committee.
- Launched #thereishelp in partnership with Twitter Singapore.
- SOS was awarded the Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA) – Special Merit. This Award Category honours government agencies and not-for-profit organisations.
- SOS organised her 50th anniversary conference titled ‘Unifying Communities; Strengthening Hope’ in conjunction with suicide prevention awareness month in September. The conference, themed ‘Suicide prevention – A collaborative effort’ served as a platform to foster inter-agency partnerships toward a common goal of preventing suicides.
- Released a feature film about teenage suicide titled Another Day With Tim.
- Partnered with Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) UniLEARN e-learning initiative to complement volunteer training programme.
2018
- SOS rebranded its corporate identity with a new logo and revamped website which includes useful information and content plus a blog section.
- The new logo design signifies approachability and openness. The deep blue color represents stability and accountability. To project a sense of hope and optimism for the future, the ‘O’ in the abbreviation has been stylised as a graphical representation of a flower, with orange and light yellow to lighten the overall mood. This is the second time SOS has changed its logo since its inception in 1969.
2016
- SOS and the Next Age Institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS) formalized the Project on Suicide in Singapore.
- This research project aims for greater understanding of the underlying causes of suicide in the local context and represents the first local research on suicide in over a decade.
2015
- SOS‘s services were expanded.
- SOS launched its first online digital campaign to spread its message for World Suicide Prevention Day 2015. The campaign generated close to 4.5million online impressions in Singapore over eight days.
2014
- SOS was transferred from the National Council of Social Service’s Children, Youth & Family Service department to the newly set-up Mental Health department. NCSS now describes SOS as an organisation focusing on suicide intervention and management.
- The Singapore Association for Social Workers (SASW) and Singapore Association for Counsellors (SAC) recognised 3 professional training programmes by SOS as continuing professional education (CPE) courses. As of June 2014, the Suicide Intervention Skills Workshop (SISW), Suicide Postvention Skills Workshop (SPSW) and Clinical Skills in Suicide Work (CSSW) are accepted for the renewal of accreditation and membership status at 1 CPE credit per hour.
- SOS organised its first International Survivors of Suicide (ISOS) Loss day event for suicide survivors.
- To further strengthen its evidence-based practice, SOS set up its own research arm to look into ways to help suicide prevention.
2013
- SOS updated its constitution to better reflect the organisation’s vision, mission and structure.
- SOS published “Letters to Aly: Surviving my BFF’s Suicide” in conjunction with World Suicide Prevention Day. This was the first time a local teenage suicide survivor shared the wound of losing her best friend to suicide in a book.
- SOS was selected to be a part of the Care and Share Movement. Through this fund-raising initiative, the government matched dollar-for-dollar every donation made from December 2013 to March 2016.
2011
- SOS expanded its counselling service to meet the growing demands for this service.
- A new training programme, called Youth Support Youth (YSY), was developed in collaboration with the Health Promotion Board (HPB), the Community Health Assessment Team (CHAT), and Silver Ribbon (Singapore).
2010
- SOS organised a 2-day conference in conjunction with World Suicide Prevention Day in celebration of its 40th anniversary. Professor Graham Martin, National advisor on suicide prevention to the Australian Government, was presided as the keynote speaker.
2008
- SOS received the Non-Profit Organisation Award for Volunteer Management during the National Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards 2008.
- SOS published “Why? When Both My Parents Took their Lives.” This was the first book in Singapore to tell the story of a suicide survivor in the local context.
2006
- The Local Outreach to Suicide Survivor (LOSS) programme was launched island-wide after a pilot phase in 2005.
- SOS revised its logo and mission statement.
2004
- SOS expanded its community training programmes.
2003
- SOS started its Email Befriending service.
- SOS started its Healing Bridge programme, the first suicide bereavement support group in Singapore.
2002
- After relocating to 10 Cantonment Close in 2001, the office was officially opened on 12 January 2002 by Mr Mah Bow Tan, then Minister for National Development and Patron of SOS. The occasion was graced by the late Mr S R Nathan, sixth President of the Republic of Singapore.
1993
- SOS organised its first public education and outreach programme, Suicide Prevention Week, in conjunction with World Suicide Prevention Day.
- SOS published The Wish to Die: Suicidal Behaviour in Singapore by Kok Lee Peng, Tsoi Wing-Foo, and Maureen Fung.
1992
- In line with its suicide prevention work, SOS and National Council of Social Service (NCSS) jointly organized a 2-day Suicide Intervention Workshop for local helping professionals.
- SOS was involved in overseas training, presenting a research paper at the the Silver Anniversary Conference of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) in Chicago, Illinois. SOS also conducted two Suicide Intervention Workshops at the Association of Psychological and Educational Counsellors of Asia (APECA) 9th Biennial Conference in Indonesia and another one at the Women Crisis Centre (Pusat Krisis Anita) in Penang, Malaysia.
1989
- SOS moved to 18 Outram Park #03-21, which offered more room for operations and training.
1986
- A special phone line was installed for other agencies and authorities to refer emergency cases to SOS.
- To meet the increasing demands for a greater range of services, additional full-time and part-time staff were recruited as the organisation developed a new organisation structure with complete job specifications and salary scales.
1969
- The Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) began hotline operations in an office at the YWCA Centre, 254 Outram Road. The telephone line number was 96544 and received close to 2000 calls in the first year of operations.
1969
- The Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) began hotline operations in an office at the YWCA Centre, 254 Outram Road. The telephone line number was 96544 and received close to 2000 calls in the first year of operations.
