Newry Armagh Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

NEWRY & ARMAGH MLA's TOLD OVER 7000 CALLS A MONTH TO NEW SUICIDE PREVENTION HELPLINE

Published: 16 October, 2008

Cathal Boylan, Sinn Féin MLA for Newry and Armagh recently attended a special briefing by Lifeline at the Assembly.

Lifeline, the new regional crisis response counselling helpline, set up as part of the Northern Ireland Suicide Prevention Strategy, is receiving more than 7000 calls a month from people in emotional distress or despair, many of them actively self harming and suicidal..

That is just one of the statistics Newry and Armagh MLAs heard from the Lifeline team at a special briefing at the NI Assembly. MLAs heard how the volume of calls to Lifeline has grown steadily since the launch in February this year. In August a total of 7877 calls were received, exceeding the projected target of 6000 by almost 30%. Figures for the previous two months were 7347 (July) and 6375 (June).

Lifeline is delivered by Contact Youth Counselling, funded by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSPSSNI). The service aims to provide people in crisis or distress free and immediate access to expert assessment, counselling and support. Lifeline also welcomes calls from friends and carers of people in crisis, seeking help for their loved ones or support for themselves.

The Lifeline telephone helpline on 0808 808 8000, operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is staffed by qualified counsellors, experienced in providing support to people suffering serious distress including suicidal feelings, self-harm, the impact of childhood abuse, violence related trauma, bereavement, depression and anxiety.

If a caller to Lifeline is in imminent danger of self harming or suicide, the telephone counsellor will offer immediate intervention including contacting the appropriate health and emergency services to get the person rapid on-the-ground crisis support. For callers in distress but not in immediate danger, Lifeline counsellors can refer the person for locally based face-to-face counselling, mentoring, befriending or complementary therapies. These follow-up services are delivered by Contact Youth in partnership with an extensive community based network of experienced counselling and therapy providers throughout Northern Ireland.

Commenting on Lifeline's impact to date, Fergus Cumiskey, Clinical Director at Contact Youth said:

"The Lifeline call statistics speak for themselves. Large numbers of people are in crisis, isolation and despair and are seeking support. Since the Northern Ireland wide roll-out of the service in February we have taken more than 30,000 calls, many of them from people actively self-harming and suicidal. While it is still too early to assess and define Lifeline's full impact, we know that this service is making a difference by providing people with support when the burden becomes too much for them alone."

Sinn Fein's Cathal Boylan MLA praised the service and said:

"Although it is impressive to hear that this new service is handling over 7000 calls a month, the fact remains that these statistics highlight the number of people in our society who are in despair and need help. This is a major issue and I am glad there are services like Lifeline out there that can provide a helping hand to those in their hour of need. The feedback we have received is that this is helping people through very difficult times, and I would encourage those in difficulty to call and get the support they require. It is free, confidential and staffed by professionals so there is nothing to lose by giving them a call" said Mr Boylan

Lifeline is funded by the DHSSPSNI with an annual budget of £3.5million and delivered by Contact Youth in partnership with a network of community based counselling and therapy providers across Northern Ireland

ENDS

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