Samaritans: Number of calls from farmers on the rise
A dramatic increase in the number of calls from farmers is due to increasing depression, isolation and loneliness, said a local spokesman for the organisation, which is available 24 hours a day to provide confidential support for people in distress or despair.
Michael Kearney was accepting €9,000 from Limerick IFA chairman Michael Roche. Raising the money was one of the Golden Jubilee Year projects undertaken by Limerick IFA.
“More people are now committing suicide than are dying on our roads each year, and we are there to try and help these people. It has become an increasing problem within farming,” Mr Kearney said. “It is the Samaritans’ belief that by talking to people and listening intently to their problems, a solution can be reached. It is a dreadful situation that, in the age of the Celtic Tiger, so many are feeling depressed and angry within themselves that they see no way out other than to take their own lives.”
He said 140 volunteers man the service at Limerick around the clock 365 days of the year, among them many farmers, and they’d welcome any others who wished to help out for a few hours each week.
