The Samaritans of Rhode Island

What The Samaritans of Rhode Island does

The Samaritans of Rhode Island (legal entity: The Samaritans, Inc. of Providence, RI) is a statewide, independent, nonprofit, non-religious 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1977 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its core offering is a free, anonymous, 24/7 crisis hotline/listening line (401.272.4044 / 800.365.4044) staffed by trained volunteers using the international nonjudgmental befriending model licensed through Befrienders Worldwide; the organization has hosted over one million callers since inception. It supplements the hotline with a portfolio of free program lines: Safe Place grief support for adults bereaved by suicide (established 1981, RI's longest-running group of its kind), Teen Talk resources, the Lifeline Prison Program in partnership with the RI Department of Corrections (established 1989), the Forget-Me-Not Gallery and Community Education Center in Pawtucket (established 2011), the annual "Cross the Bridge to Hope" walk/run at the Pell Bridge Run (established 2012, now in its 13th year), community outreach and education programs, and an online Learning Library.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally low-tech: voice telephony as the primary service medium, a website (www.samaritansri.org) with a learning library and resource directory, plus a web-based referral system integrated with RI Emergency 911, the Rhode Island State Police, and state/municipal healthcare officials. The organization deliberately is not a licensed healthcare agency and does not handle third-party reimbursements, diagnoses, or insurance verification; all programs are 100% free with no financial, diagnostic, or identity prerequisites. Payment processing is limited to PayPal donation buttons, and the website is augmented with Google Translate for multilingual access. The volunteer pool and an estimated 101-250 paid staff operate from three physical sites: the historic Baker-Hanley House "Forever Home" headquarters in Providence, the Forget-Me-Not Gallery at 67 Park Place in Pawtucket, and the weekly Safe Place meeting at the First Unitarian Church Community Center in Providence.

The revenue model is purely donation-driven, with streams including individual and memorial/tribute gifts, legacy and planned giving, and corporate and event sponsorships (notably tied to the annual Pell Bridge Run). The organization states that 100% of donations remain local to Rhode Island, and it does not charge fees for any service. It sells no products, accepts no programmatic revenue, and has no disclosed investors, parent company, or subsidiaries; its only quantified historical funding event on record is a $85,388 grant from The Champlin Foundation on 2020-12-02. Marketing and go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: trained volunteer befrienders, multi-channel awareness campaigns (billboards, bus shelters, TV ads, social media, Constant Contact newsletters, community newspaper columns), a speakers bureau, gallery exhibits, and the annual Pell Bridge Run serve both as awareness engines and as the de facto referral funnel for new callers across all 39 Rhode Island cities and towns.

Name

The Samaritans of Rhode Island

Legal name

The Samaritans, Inc. of Providence, RI

Website

https://samaritansri.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Samaritans of Rhode Island is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1977 that operates a free, anonymous, volunteer-staffed 24/7 crisis hotline and listening line, plus bereavement, teen, prison, and community education programs serving all 39 Rhode Island cities and towns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Behavioral Health Crisis Services Management (988/Hotlines/Mobile Crisis Coordination) (HLAEAHAK), Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGAEAH)

Keywords

• Crisis intervention services
• Suicide prevention hotline
• Grief support programs
• Community mental health
• Volunteer befriending

Headquarters

HQ city

Providence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Memorial Gifts: General donations and tribute/memorial gifts from individuals supporting the organization's mission. 100% of donations benefit the local Rhode Island charity.
2. Legacy and Planned Giving: Legacy gifts, bequests, and planned giving opportunities for major donors.
3. Corporate and Event Sponsorships: Corporate donations and sponsorship opportunities, particularly tied to events like the annual Pell Bridge Run.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Samaritans of Rhode Island operates a free, anonymous, 24/7 crisis hotline and listening line staffed by trained volunteer befrienders using the international nonjudgmental befriending model. The organization also delivers free grief support groups, teen-specific resources, a prison-based peer support program, community education, and an art gallery serving Rhode Islanders in crisis and those bereaved by suicide.

Product overview

The Samaritans of Rhode Island is a charitable nonprofit organization (not a licensed healthcare agency) offering a portfolio of free, volunteer-based crisis support and suicide prevention programs. The core offering is the 24-hour Crisis Hotline/Listening Line staffed by trained volunteers using the international 'befriending' model of nonjudgmental listening. The organization complements this with: Safe Place (grief support for those bereaved by suicide), Teen Talk (teen-specific resources), Forget-Me-Not Gallery (art gallery providing hope and commemoration), Lifeline Prison Program (peer support in correctional facilities), Community Outreach and Education (prevention education), Cross the Bridge to Hope (annual wellness event), and a Learning Library (educational resources). All programs are provided free of charge, supported by donations and volunteers, serving Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns with international reach via internet and social media.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Safe Place: Free weekly drop-in support group for adults who have lost a family member or friend to suicide, established 1981
• Teen Talk
• Forget-Me-Not Gallery
• Lifeline Prison Program
• Community Outreach and Education

Products and services

• Crisis Hotline/Listening Line A 24-hour confidential listening line staffed by trained volunteers offering anonymous, nonjudgmental befriending support to callers in crisis or those who need someone to listen. Free at (401) 272-4044 or toll-free (800) 365-4044.
• Safe Place Grief Support Free weekly drop-in peer support group for adults (18+) who have lost a family member or friend to suicide, held Tuesday evenings at the First Unitarian Church Community Center in Providence.
• Lifeline Prison Program Peer-to-peer befriending program partnership with the RI Department of Corrections in which trained inmate volunteers (LifeLiners) provide nonjudgmental befriending to fellow inmates who are hopeless, alone, suicidal, grieving, or stressed.
• Forget-Me-Not Gallery and Community Education Center Art gallery and community education center at 67 Park Place, Pawtucket, RI, providing suicide prevention education programs, a gift shop featuring Rhode Island artists and craftsmen, and facility rental for meetings and events.
• Teen Talk

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million callers served since 1977
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Befrienders WorldwidemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOur Global Partner - Befrienders Worldwide is the international organization that provides the nonjudgmental befriending model that The Samaritans uses for training their volunteers. This partnership connects the organization to a global network of similar crisis support services.
• Rhode Island 911coreStrategic or Co-development Partner24/7 emergency services partnership. The Samaritans works with RI Emergency 911 for suicide emergencies and has formulated training protocols incorporating telephone and web referrals with 911 officials.
• RI State PolicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with RI State Police (401-444-1000) for coordinating responses to suicide emergencies. State Police can coordinate with RI E-911 and local municipalities.
• 988/BH LINKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner24/7 behavioral health crisis line partnership (988 or 401-414-5465) for walk-in assessment, treatment and referral services in East Providence RI for adults 18+.
• RI Department of CorrectionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLifeline Prison Program partnership started in 1989. Peer-to-peer befriending program providing inmates with information to lessen anxiety from incarceration and serving as peer outreach and referral to RIDOC programs and services.
• RI Kids LinkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for children's crisis services (1-855-543-5465) for youth and teens requiring behavioral health emergency services.
• Butler HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner24/7 Emergency Assessment services (844-401-0111) for individuals 13+ experiencing emotional distress or substance use crisis.
• RI Acute Care HospitalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with RI acute care hospital emergency rooms for medical and psychiatric assessments. By RI law, insured and uninsured must be treated at RI acute care hospital ERs.
• RI Certified Community Behavioral Health ClinicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with RI certified behavioral health clinics for ongoing treatment and referral services.
• RI United Way 211coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partnership for callers outside RI to find local resources through United Way 211 services across the nation.
• RI Department of HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with RI Department of Health for healthcare coordination and licensed healthcare provider information.
• RI Department of Behavioral Health Care, Developmental Disabilities and HospitalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with BH-DDH for behavioral health services, developmental disabilities support, and hospital coordination.
• RI Community Health CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with RI community health centers for primary care referrals and healthcare access.
• Community Action AgenciesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Community Action Agencies for community support and resource referrals.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Leadership CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with SAMH Leadership Council for substance abuse and mental health coordination.
• Day One/Sexual AssaultminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Day One for sexual assault crisis services and referrals.
• RI Coalition Against Domestic ViolenceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence for domestic violence support and referral services.
• RI Governor's Commission on DisabilitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking partnership to improve website and hotline accessibility for individuals living with disabilities.
• RI Assistive Technology Access Partnership (ATAP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to identify tools to make website and crisis hotline more accessible to individuals with disabilities.
• Brown University Students for SamaritansminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent club providing content consultation, design and data conversion for the organization's website redesign.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Befrienders Worldwide: International umbrella organization that supplies the nonjudgmental befriending training model used by The Samaritans. Operates a global network of crisis helplines using the same volunteer-led listening methodology, making it the closest direct peer and operational benchmark.
• Crisis Text Line: 24/7 crisis support via text (741741) staffed by trained volunteer crisis counselors. Targets similar populations with a digital-native modality, representing the text-first competitor that younger crisis populations increasingly choose over voice-based local hotlines.
• Samaritans (UK): The original UK-based Samaritans organization from which the Rhode Island chapter draws its name and befriending methodology. Operates a 24/7 UK helpline using volunteer listeners and shares brand lineage and training approach with The Samaritans of Rhode Island.
• BH LINK (Rhode Island): Rhode Island's 24/7 behavioral health crisis walk-in assessment and referral service, partnered with The Samaritans via 988/BH LINK. Provides a parallel, clinically-anchored crisis response pathway within the same Rhode Island catchment area, making it the most direct local operational peer.

Broad incumbents

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP): National nonprofit focused on suicide prevention research, education, and advocacy. Operates Out of the Darkness walks and local chapters, competing for the same Rhode Island donor and corporate-sponsor pool as The Samaritans' Cross the Bridge to Hope event.
• NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness): National mental health advocacy and support organization with a Rhode Island affiliate (NAMI Rhode Island). Provides peer support groups, help lines, and education that overlap with The Samaritans' bereavement, education, and crisis-support programming.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (SAMHSA): Federally backed national 24/7 crisis hotline launched in 2022 by SAMHSA. Overlaps directly with The Samaritans' core hotline service but operates at national scale with federal funding and now offers voice, text, and chat - the principal competitive and partnership counterpart.

Emerging players

• Trans Lifeline: Peer-support phone hotline run by and for trans people, staffed primarily by volunteer operators. Comparable small-scale, volunteer-driven crisis model with a defined demographic focus and grassroots fundraising approach.
• The Trevor Project: National nonprofit providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth via phone, text, and chat. Comparable volunteer/counselor-driven crisis-support model but with a defined demographic focus and a substantially larger donor base.

Regional players

• Lifeline (Australia): Australian 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention service operating a national phone line staffed by trained volunteers. Shares the volunteer-befriending model and 24/7 hotline structure but serves a different national geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thesamaritansri
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/samaritansri
• Facebookfacebook.com/The-Samaritans-of-Rhode-Island-135146746614916
• Instagraminstagram.com/samaritansri
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-samaritans-of-rhode-island

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Samaritans of Rhode Island