Park ‘well-being’event will help stop tragedies
By Maurice Garvey
MOMENTUM is building for a significant well-being event on September 8 in Ballyfermot – spearheaded by local residents fighting the rise of suicides and lack of dual diagnosis services in the area.
One of those residents is Warren Dempsey, whose sister Andrea tragically died by suicide on April 28.
Warren Dempsey with his brother Roy holding a photo of Andrea
Warren (30) and local residents formed mental health support group Home (Helping Others More Everyday), to address the high rate of suicides in the area – affecting predominately young women like Andrea (22).
Set up last month, Home holds weekly meetings in the Civic Centre, in an effort to establish a sustainable outlet for those in need.
The new group is hosting a big event on September 8 in Le Fanu Park in memory of those who died, and it will feature up to 50 musical acts, along with local mental health support services.
Warren has called for residents to come “out in force” and back “local neighbours working tirelessly to provide services and vital support to our family members.”
Meanwhile, Warren features in a moving documentary, published this week by Fend Media for the Solas Festival, which is in aid of Pieta House.
In the documentary, Warren talks of the “knock-on effect” following Andrea’s death, citing further suicides of “two good friends close to her” and that of “eight girls in our area within a ten-week period.”
He said the tragedy “absolutely destroyed our family”, and referenced that Andrea had a “troubled background”
On the night Andrea died, which was Warren’s 30th birthday, he recalled his brother Roy (26) discovering her body in Le Fanu Park while on his way home.
“It was a moment of madness, because we’d like to think she didn’t want to leave us as much,” said Warren.
Speaking to The Echo before Andrea’s funeral, Warren spoke how he, Andrea and Roy would talk to each other every day and “called ourselves the tri-pod.”
In the After Suicide documentary, Warren said Andrea lived a “happy loving life, she was a carer, an educated girl and a partner, all the attributes to succeed in life and was the stereotypical person who was going to do well.”
Anyone affected by issues raised in this article, help is available at:
- • Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie
- • Aware 1800 80 48 48 (depression, anxiety)
- • Pieta House 1800 247 247 or email mary@pieta.ie (suicide, self-harm)
- • Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634 (for ages 13 to 19)
- • Childline 1800 66 66 66 (for under 18s)
A list of HSE and HSE-funded services can be found at https://www2.hse.ie/mental-health/
