‘Urgent need’ for Traveller mental health services with suicide rates six times the national average

Suicide rates among Travellers are six times the national average and mental health services urgently need to become more accessible to members of this community, according to the recommendations of a report.

As part of the research, Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre brought together 88 members of Traveller communities between the ages of 13 and 23 for a series of 10 workshops nationwide.

The groups were gathered to highlight how little has changed since a 2010 study revealed the suicide rate among Travellers as being six times higher than the suicide rate of the general population — seven times the national average in terms of Traveller men. Every workshop mentioned the word ‘discrimination’ when asked what it meant to be a Traveller.