Counselling Help to 20 Suicidal Irish People

We had a very enthusiastic team of young adult volunteers from a local Athlone church who took to the streets and local shopping centres to enquire 'how are you?', as Hope Trust contributed to the Mental Health awareness week.  We went armed with 100 chocolate oranges as well as contact details for referrals for those who required them.  We found the exercise a really positive exercise as the majority of folk who stopped to engage with us were glad to have someone speak to them.  Some were mental health carers themselves who were appreciative and said 'no-one ever stopped to ask them how they were doing!'.  We look forward to our next opportunity to meet with the community.

Reporting on self-harm statistics according to Samaritans, 'there were 12,533 presentations to hospital in 2020 by 9,550 persons'.  This, of course, is not a full representation of the level of self-harm as many cases are not presented at hospital.  However, those who are, are at severe risk of suicide, particularly if they have repeat incidents.  According to CSO,  'suicide was the number one cause of death in 2019 for young males aged under 25 years and was the third highest cause of death amongst females'.  

Losing purpose in life, broken relationships and bereavement, loss of work opportunities, isolation and addiction are all contributors to suicidal ideation. There continue to be various initiatives to try to address these issues, counselling being one of these.  Our hope is that we find effective ways of connecting with those who are most in need, that we build positive communities and that individuals would come to know their value within society.

Thank you for the support offered to Hope Trust, it has made a difference in the lives of many seeking help.