ADAMS DEMANDS A MAJOR SUICIDE STRATEGY FOR ALL-IRELAND
TREE OF HOPE IS PLANTED IN MUIRHEVNAMOR
SINN Féin president Gerry Adams on Monday planted ‘a tree of hope’ at the Muirhevnamor Community Centre in ‘remembrance of all of those who have died by suicide; those who have survived, including the bereaved families; and as evidence of our collective determination to encourage the allocation of more resources to tackle suicide’.
The event was organised by the Muirhevnamor Community Council. The Louth TD thanked them for organising the tree planting and all of those groups and individuals who provide services for those at risk of suicide and self-harm.
He also welcomed the announcement at the weekend by the Sinn Féin Health Minister in the North, Michelle O’Neill MLA, to launch a consultation on Protect Life 2 – a strategy for suicide prevention in that part of the island.
Mr Adams said: ‘I believe that only through joined up mental health and suicide strategies on this island can we effectively tackle these difficult issues. A mark of Sinn Féin’s commitment on this issue is that our deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald insisted on taking up this brief.
‘ The 2017 Budget is due for publication in early October. This will be the real test of the government’s commitment to mental health services. There has to be greater investment in mental health programmes, including 24/7 access to services for people who need it.
‘Later this month as a contribution, Sinn Fein will hold a conference in Dublin on dual diagnosis and will also be training our staff in suicide prevention practices.
‘ The sad reality is that there is not a single family on this island that has not been affected by the challenge of mental health issues. Linked to this is the issue of suicide.
‘]’It is believed the real figure for suicide in Ireland is as high as 1,000 people annually. Critically, an all-island suicide prevention strategy which coordinates mental health agencies and manages resources more effectively is essential’.
THERE is something infectious about the can-do and positive attitude of SoSAD’s events chairman, Gerry Duffy. The retired Dundalk businessman speaks with such passion and enthusiasm about the organisation he is devoting his considerable skills to helping that it’s hard for some of it not to rub off.
For organisations in the suicide prevention and awareness sphere in Ireland, the revelations about financial irregularities at one of the country’s most high profile charities, Console, has been particularly hard to bear.
SoSAD, which is headed up by Peter Moroney and stands for Save our Sons and Daughters, thought long and hard about the possible implications for them of the Console scandal and they were concerned whether a sceptical public would be as generous to them as they had been in the past.
The Duck Race, a now annual feature in the Dundalk calendar, was cancelled this year such was the level of worry about the public’s understandable perception of charities, particularly those involved in suicide awareness and prevention.
Gerry is keen to set the record straight: SoSAD is manned by volunteers, their annual accounts are audited and posted on their website every year so that people can see for themselves how transparent and wellrun the organisation is.
He said: ‘Cancelling the Duck Race was something that was not done lightly, but we were worried about going onto the streets and asking for donations without clarification about what the treatment was.
‘But Peter Moroney spoke about this earlier in the summer and the accounts for SoSAD are available to anyone at the click of a button. I want to explain the work of SoSAD in Dundalk and there is a great team working diligently here in Dundalk.
‘We are volunteers and we have SoSAD and the people we help at heart. Unfortunately, the demands are getting greater for SoSAD’s services, and the recent tragedy in Cavan brings the starkness of the problem home’.
SoSAD relies entirely on contri-contributions from the public in order to continue its work, not just in Louth, but also in Monaghan and Meath. Despite the cancellation of the Duck Race, Gerry and the team have come up with another duck-themed novel fundraiser - a Duck Dip - which will take place in October and which will be run in conjunction with Aura Leisure in Dundalk at the swimming pool.
Before the end of the conversation, Gerry is at pains to point out the contribution made to the Duck Race by Dundalk Sub Aqua Club, ‘without whom it just wouldn’t have happened’.
‘ They have been amazingly generous and supportive with their time and expertise and they have made the Duck Race possible for us over the last few years. It was the main fundraiser for us and people in Dundalk have been very good to us over the years and we are particularly grateful for the continued support of our patron, Dundalk FC manager Stephen Kenny, and we wish him and the team all the best ahead of the Europa League campaign’.
The Duck Dip is one of a number of novel and fun ideas generated by the SoSAD events team, headed by Gerry. He said: ‘ The events team is made up of ordinary people from Dundalk and as much as we plan and organise, it would all come to naught without the people without the generosity of the people of the town’.
In addition, a sponsor - Silvercrest Farms in Monaghan - has come on board and the charity continues to enjoy the support of a number of other businesses, including Martin’s Food Equipment and the McLoughlin family. They also have the support of Dundalk Gardai, particularly Sgt. Brendan Keane.
Many people are not aware of the huge amount of work undertaken by SoSAD every day of the week. About a year ago, they moved to a new premises at Jocelyn Street, opposite the Red Cross Hall, having started in humble accommodation at Williamson’s Place. Ciara Solan is the co-ordinator of the Dundalk SoSAD centre and organises the volunteers and counsellors so that ‘no-one is turned away’.
Gerry said: ‘We are talking to people aged from nine to 90. But it is young adult males who are particularly vulnerable. We would like to put a suicide awareness and prevention programme together for secondary schools in the area’.
Anyone can be affected by suicide of course. And it was a good friend of Gerry’s who went through a short, but intense period of difficulty. Gerry said: ‘I went looking for help for my friend, that bank holiday weekend. But the State agencies told me to come back on Tuesday.
‘I had heard about SoSAD and contacted them and they were available straight away and I saw first hand the work that they do. My friend got the help he needed at that time and it made me want to become involved with this organisation’.
Ms Solan said the office in Dundalk, which costs €52,000 a year to run, has two qualified intervention officers who are qualified in psychology and applied suicide intervention skills and they deal with a wide variety of different situations.
She said: ‘ There are a wide variety of calls from people in various levels of distress. We can get distress calls at any time and anyone can be affected by suicide. We can help get people regular counselling to help them cope with what is going on in their lives. We are also developing bereavement groups within the organisation to help people deal with life after someone close to them dies by suicide and we can help with those emotions’.
SoSAD’s events committee would like to hear from anyone who is interested in helping them with fundraising. Call into the SoSAD office at any time during office hours to speak to someone.
If you are distressed, or if you know someone who is need of assistance at a time of crisis, you can contact SoSAD at any time free of charge. The office, at 42 Jocelyn Street is open during business hours and people can call in. In addition, you can contact 042 9327311, 083 4244182 at any time or email: dundalk@sosadireland.ie.
SOSAD’S EVENTS COMMITTEE WANT TO HEAR FROM ANYONE INTERESTED IN HELPING