Suicide is Everyone's Business

HUGG and the NSRF are keynote speakers at the ‘Connecting for Life’ conference attended by over 130 people

The Connecting for Life (CfL) Implementation Group Donegal,  hosted a Midterm conference on 20th April 2023 “Suicide is Everyone’s Business" for community leaders and health care professionals. 

The conference, held at the Clanree Hotel in Letterkenny, provided an opportunity for the community of Donegal to come together to hear the voices of those bereaved by suicide; and to once again connect on a shared vision to reduce the suicide and self-harm rates in Donegal and among priority groups, including members of the Traveller community, young people and people with dual diagnosis among others.

The keynote address on the first-of-its-kind National Suicide Bereavement Survey was given by researcher Dr Eve Griffin at the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF), in collaboration with Fiona Tuomey, Chief Executive Officer, of HUGG.

Dr Griffin said “worryingly, half of our participants reported poor current mental wellbeing, especially young adults. At the time of the survey, one-in-five expressed some thoughts of self-harm or suicide.  While those who did access support following their bereavement were broadly positive, a significant number of people did not access any help. Given the increased risk of suicide among those impacted by suicide, our findings have important implications for the development and implementation of timely supports, which should be tailored to individual need.”

Fiona stated that “death by suicide devastates many lives in many ways. We know this first-hand because we asked those affected. They’ve told us they need affordable, timely access to support and ways to find the right support easily and quickly. We must also help our young adults, who are telling us how much they are hurting.”

To read the full press release click here

 Click here to read the media coverage in the Donegal Live