Pieta House plans US launch to help Irish

Pieta House is to launch a 12-month pilot scheme aimed at helping the Irish in New York to deal with suicide, self harm, and mental health problems.

The founder of Pieta House, Joan Freeman, said the pilot programme would operate from the Irish Immigrant Centre in Queen’s and, if successful, could be rolled out across the other 10 migrant centres for Irish people in the United States.

Ms Freeman said the pilot was being pitched directly at Irish people in America, as while many saw life there as a potential “pot of gold”, in reality many people experienced periods of isolation or loneliness.