Centre sees 7-year-olds at risk of suicide
Children as young as seven years of age are threatening to take their lives, according to the charity Pieta House.
Its centre in Lucan, Co Dublin, said it had been inundated with families and their children seeking help this summer, at a time when there is usually a lull in demand for services.
Chief executive Joan Freeman explained: “Normally we experience a slight easing off in the summer months but this year there has been no let up, and sadly again we are seeing an increasing number of children coming to us seeking help.”
The Dublin centre saw 275 clients in June and July this year compared with 172 last year. Some 39.5% of those were children aged 17 or lower who were referred or brought for treatment compared with 24.3% in the same period last year.
The disturbing figures come ahead of Suicide Awareness Week during the beginning of September and have forced to the charity to appeal for extra fundraising.
Pieta House receives only 10% if its funds from the Health Service Executive.
“The recession is really giving people a punch. There are relationship problems, unemployment and there’s less money around.
“Children coming to us are getting younger, with some as young as six and seven.
“They are saying that they want to go to their granny in heaven… at the moment they are just threats but they can go on to scratch themselves or pull their hair and basically act out what is going on at home,” added Ms Freeman.
One 13-year-old child had tried to hang himself in a friend’s house and told shocked therapists he had a “plan” to kill himself.
Most people helped by the charity have attempted suicide. While it operates two other outreach projects in Dublin and is planning a third, Pieta House is also finalising plans for a centre in Limerick by October that will include 10 therapists.
The charity’s chief executive added: “Some of the kids appearing to us are aware of other suicides in schools or reported ones.
“It’s a very dangerous situation and can have a lot of influence on them.”
The charity is asking those interested in fundraising to organise collection boxes at home, coffee mornings, car boot sales or any other fundraising initiative.
Pieta House has successfully treated almost 3,000 people since 2006.
- See www.pieta.ie or call 01 6010000 for details.
A YOUNG Dubliner who pulled his life back together after trying to commit suicide has called on depressed youngsters to seek help amid a surge in demand for services from support groups.
Father-of-one Damien Martin told how he was close to driving his car off a cliff edge but was then arrested and put on suicide watch.
The 25-year-old is calling on people battling depression to reach out as new figures show the country’s only centre for the intervention of suicide has seen a sharp rise in demand for help.
Mr Martin, now preparing to enter college, and working as a volunteer with youth groups, described how he had given up all hope and one day decided he would end his life. “I was depressed over a period of three to four months. One day I just thought I’d take off my seat belt and turn the wheel and all my problems would go away.”
In late 2007 the Clondalkin man was experiencing mood swings and he had been having difficulties in relationships, including with his then partner, his parents, as well as his friends.
In a blinding rage the then courier drove through Dublin city’s streets with his eyes closed, speeding through red lights and driving erratically.
“I had planned to drive as far away as possible and off the edge of a cliff or pier in Cork,” he explained.
When gardaí caught up with Mr Martin as he sped dangerously through Dublin he was arrested for dangerous driving.
“I was laughing and told them they could keep me, but once they let me go I’d be dead by the end of the evening.”
Out of control and crazed, Mr Martin started beating his head off a wall in the Garda station and was eventually stripped of his clothing for safety reasons and put on suicide watch.
“I started beating my head off the wall and it took about five officers to restrain me,” he added.
After being released and having calmed down, the Dubliner was referred by a family friend to the services of Pieta House, Ireland’s only centre for the intervention of suicide and self harm.
“They listened to me, then they treated me like an individual. I was declared a high-risk [suicidal] individual and received therapy on a daily basis at first.”
Since beginning therapy, Mr Martin has set up a Facebook page to reach out to youngsters struggling with depression. He is also about to start training in psychotherapy and works with youth groups in the Clondalkin area.
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