Donegal ‘connects for life’ in a very positive way

The annual Connecting for Life conference for Donegal was held in the Radisson Hotel, Letterekenny on Friday last.

The purpose of the conference was to share good practices and build connections in the area of suicide prevention.

There was a great turnout with over 90 individuals from An Garda Síochána, Health, Donegal Travellers Project, Private, Community & Voluntary organisations interested or involved in suicide prevention in attendance.

The conference was delivered as part of the Connecting for Life Donegal action plan which is a 5 year plan (2015 -2020) for suicide prevention that involves a broad range of organisations and individuals from the statutory, non-statutory, the community and voluntary sector, and also the general public.

This local plan forms part of the national Connecting for Life strategy which sets a minimum target of a 10% reduction in the suicide rate in Ireland by 2020.

Master of Ceremonies on the day was Liam Ward, Director of Community, Development & Planning Services in Donegal County Council and the opening address was provided by Deputy Mayor, Cllr. Martin Harley.

Speaking on the deeply sensitive and devastating issue that is suicide in society Cllr Harley noted the need for cooperation in this area.

He said “In the world we live in today with people facing many different types of difficult situations and challenges it is hard to think of anyone who has not been directly affected by suicide or mental health issues. Now, more so than ever, we must stress the importance and value of community, community spirit, and cooperation to combat these issues.

“We as a Local Authority have an onus to help people with mental health issues and focus on providing support to people who are in crisis, whether it be housing, job creation or promoting social inclusion. Our aim here today is to bring people together from different sectors, services and communities in order to strengthen our collective ability to be a major force for change in suicide prevention in Donegal.”

Dr Cliff Haley, Executive Clinical Director, Mental Health Services also gave a warm welcome to everyone attending the Connecting for Life Conference in the Radisson Hotel and expressed his gratitude at the importance of it being held in Letterkenny.
The Conference started off with a video from Dr Colette Corry, National Suicide Research Foundation on the Impact of suicide on families

This was followed by guest speakers:

Cllr Ian McGarvey Spoke about his personal experience of living with a death by suicide in a family.

Barry Mc Gale, Suicide Prevention Consultant spoke about the Impact suicide has on a workplace

Ruth Garvey Williams, Insight Inishowen spoke about the impact suicide has on a community

Anne Sheridan, Mental Health Promotion/Suicide Resource Officer for HSE Donegal then gave a brief description about a new Suicide Bereavement Awareness Training.

Marie Burke Pieta House and Michael O’Rouric, HSE spoke about the support services for suicide bereaved in Donegal

This was followed by a short workshop discussion where groups could provide feedback on the day and also exchange ideas and information on the different services and the connections that can be made in the area of suicide prevention.

Dr. Kevin Malone, Professor of Psychiatry & Mental Health in UCD closed the event with an overview of the national and local picture in terms of suicide rates and encouraged the audience to keep strengthening their cooperation and build deeper connections as the best means of promoting positive mental health and reducing rates of suicide.

The conference ended with a beautiful performance from the Intergenerational Choir of Ages “Ceol le Chéile”

Attendees were then invited to the Lived Lives Lost exhibition, an exhibition of stories of young lives lost to suicide in Ireland, at the regional Cultural Centre.

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