World Mental Health Day
TRAVELLERS TOGETHER PREVENTING SUICIDE - CAMPAIGN
At The Community Foundation for Ireland we believe in an Ireland where everyone feels they belong. An Ireland where people are equal and communities thrive. A minority who still face huge challenges, especially in the area of mental health is the Traveller community.
The latest research National Traveller Community Survey (Behaviour and Attitudes 2017) shows that 82% of Travellers are affected by suicide (90% in the Dublin area). The same study shows that 44% of Travellers affected by suicide in the immediate family also experienced suicide in the wider family.
Other data available indicates that suicide is affecting the Traveller community in a far greater proportion that any other community in Ireland. This is having a devastating effect on Travellers. The impact of suicide is increased by the fact that the Traveller community is small (30,987 Irish Travellers enumerated in the 2016 Census) with large and very connected extended families.
We have provided dedicated funding to conduct research examining Traveller health and inequalities and have funded organisations including the Irish Traveller Movement and National Traveller Women’s Forum.
For World Mental Health Day 2019 we would like to spotlight one such grant to the organisation Exchange House Ireland - Travellers Service. They received a grant of €7,500 through our Social Change 2018 - Mental Health & Travellers round with a project title ‘Suicide Prevention Day - National Traveller Campaign’ which was held September 10th on World Suicide Prevention Day. Traveller projects from around the country organised events to mark the day, and highlight the issue of Suicide among the Traveller community under the banner Travellers Together Preventing Suicide.
The project was based on developing a Traveller specific Campaign on Suicide Prevention Day in order to highlight the day and the need to take action within the Traveller Community through the creation of a programme of activities and initiatives developed by Traveller organisations, groups and projects to highlight Suicide Prevention Day. They found that ‘National Days’ of encouragement have proved to be a successful way to change habits and practices and raise awareness.
The project also included a social media platform to incorporate, discuss and highlight messages and actions happening on Suicide prevention Day. The creation of Traveller Specific promotional material highlighted the day and the range of local, regional and national activities as well as supporting the development of other local initiatives. This project is based on the promotion of suicide prevention through supporting local initiatives and groups maximising its impact by creating a campaign that included and promoted all activities under one programme.
They recognised the need for creating an overall campaign that included all Traveller organisations and provided the community with an initiative that breaks their sense of isolation, builds up solidarity and brings all project and initiatives under one umbrella campaign, maximising its effects and impact.
Celebrations, tree and bulbs planting, candle vigils, poetry reading and balloon releases will be organised to remember the loved ones and offer solidarity to families… Walks, coffee mornings and provision of information about mental health and services were also some of the day’s events that provided spaces for listening, discussion and information sharing. A theatre play (Magpies on the Pylon) followed by a discussion panel and the launch of leaflets and video were also part of the campaign activities… Actions were aiming at strengthen the community, and creating awareness around mental health and suicide.
Preventing suicide is everyone’s task. This collective initiative wants to bring the issue of suicide within the Traveller community to the attention of the wider Irish society, and call for the implementation of all necessary actions to eliminate Traveller suicide (from personal and community actions to the allocation of resources to develop and implement national strategies). For more information please follow the campaign on the Facebook page Travellers Together Preventing Suicide.
For Ireland to thrive, all our citizens must thrive together. From our work with organisations on the front line, we know the areas that need support including services that help Travellers both in terms of policy and front-line services especially in areas of education and health.
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