‘We cannot sit back and do nothing’ following tragedies
By Maurice Garvey
A COMMUNITY response to suicide has been organised for Thursday night (July 11) in Ballyfermot – in an effort to create a plan to support vulnerable people.
Four young women have died by suicide in Ballyfermot in the last three weeks, sadly not the first time the area has suffered multiple tragedies of young women in such a short space of time.
Roy and Warren Dempsey holding a photo of their sister Andrea at Darkness Into Light 2019
An internal memo to HSE psychiatric teams in Dublin South-Central last year, said there is “a new profile of women dying by suicide (early 20s to mid 30s)”.
In 2017, residents marched on City Hall after resident Lisa Palmer gathered 1,200 signatures in a petition, calling for the establishment of a local 24/7 clinic to offer crisis intervention.
As families continue to be devastated by the issue, local organisations, volunteers and elected representatives will meet on Thursday night to try and generate a plan.
One such idea by local resident Warren Dempsey has gathered significant traction in the community.
Warren, whose sister Andrea tragically died by suicide on April 28, has proposed a register, where people can offer to be a friend for someone in need, and where someone can access a friend if they are in a dark place and need to talk.
A friend would be an anonymous person to chat to, if someone does not want to confide in their family or peer group.
Acknowledging “we cannot sit back and do nothing”, Warren’s proposal received a resounding positive response online, many in the community feel it is “badly needed”, and an “amazing idea”.
The Echo understands the meeting on Thursday will look at generating and implementing the register.
For 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) and Childline 1800 66 66 66 (for under 18s).
A list of HSE and HSE-funded services can be found at HSE Mental Health
