Campaign to put suicide crisis centres close to all

SUICIDE prevention service Pieta House wants a crisis centre no more than 100 miles from everyone in Ireland to try and stop the 10 deaths from suicide that occur every week.

Speaking in Cork to promote its annual fundraising walk on May 7, chief executive Joan Freeman said this is not just a vision but a hope which would become a reality in the years to come. She said Pieta House has the backing of the Government and expressed her delight that junior Minister for Mental Health Kathleen Lynch had attended the talk.

“We have already opened five centres in five years so it is very much a reality,” she said.

“We are looking to open a crisis intervention service in Cork. This will be a free service, offering one-to-one counselling and a therapeutic programme which we call talking therapy.

“We have looked at all the best models of care around the world and took the best bits and this is what we have come up with.”

Ms Freeman said mental health issues need to be separated from the medical model of care.

“Some people need a medical model, but the majority of people do not and in some cases it might make people feel worse about themselves,” she said.

“People need to know what they are going through is a normal human experience and that they will get through it.

“Our crisis intervention service is a new concept of care. People in acute distress need emotional support; at the moment they are told to go to A&E. We want them to come straight to Pieta House where they will receive counselling or what we call our talk therapy.”

Ms Freeman said no age group is immune from the scourge of suicide.

“We have seen people in age ranges from six to 83, but the biggest at risk age category is still young men.”

However, Ms Freeman said since the onset of the economic crisis the age bracket in men had widened and the risk age for men was now between 30 and 45.

“We find that the biggest reason for men is the break up of a relationship; they have lost their loved one and often the spontaneous access to their children. It is not difficult to get these men to talk once you have access to them, but they are very reluctant to ask for help.

“Suicide does go up in times of economic crisis and that is expected, but what is disappointing is that the number of undetermined deaths have risen too. These are deaths that are not quite clear cut, like drownings or single vehicle accidents, and they are also on the rise.”

This year’s 5km Darkness into Light walk will take place in Cork as well as five other locations nationwide on May 7 at 4.30am. It is a symbolic event to give hope and raise funds for people affected by suicide and self-harm.

* For more information log on to www.pieta.ie or call 01 601 0000.