Tag Archives: Cycle Against Suicide

CLARE people are being urged to get on their bike on Friday September 10, World Suicide Prevention Day, to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention. Cycle Against Suicide are inviting local communities to join its “Bike4Life: One Day – One Goal”. Held annually, Bike4Life is part of the fundraising effort of Cycle Against Suicide, an organisation dedicated to greater public awareness and community-based assistance for individuals at risk. “If you or someone you know needs help, reach out. Speaking up to a trusted person about depression, suicide or grief is the first step to saving a life,” Caroline Lafferty, Cycle Against Suicide CEO stated. “The risk of suicide is heightened when people are not able to talk about their mental health challenges to others. Very often men and women at risk feel they have no one to talk to about suicidal thoughts and the conditions that cause them.” To combat the stigma, shame and fear around mental health that …

KILRUSH and Derg Credit Unions have teamed up to help a key suicide prevention charity which is rolling out a community-based system to ensure support is available for anyone in mental health distress. Cycle Against Suicide’s Community Buddy Programme trains and equips people in communities with the practical, hands-on skills and knowledge they need to deliver support locally. Through this programme, Buddies are trained to provide a listening ear, show empathy, discern the level of mental health distress an individual is going through, and make recommendations for appropriate professional help and resources that can help the individual cope positively and build resilience. “This is a really fantastic idea because people are really struggling right now,” said Claire Neylon, Business Development Officer with Kilrush Credit Union. “We’re delighted to be working with Derg Credit Union on this, because we have a great relationship with them and with Ennistymon Credit Union, whereby we often undertake joint marketing initiatives.” Cycle Against Suicide is …

CLARE people are being asked to “share the load on the road” in an effort to bolster mental health in the community. Cycle Against Suicide is running a virtual cycle from this Saturday, April 24 until May 31 to highlight its “Community Buddy” programme that prioritises peer to peer support as a means to identify and help those who may be vulnerable. Cycle Against Suicide is working to prioritise mental health support by training mental health support ‘Buddies’ into communities across Ireland. Unable to undertake their usual fundraising cycle this year, the group is encouraging Clare people to get out on their own and cover the miles in their county to help raise money to train the buddies. The Cycle Against Suicide ‘Community Buddy’ programme trains and equips participants with practical, hands-on skills and knowledge they need to deliver local support to those in mental health distress. It costs €400 to train a Buddy, and the group is aiming to …

TeenLine Ireland, the free, national listening service for teenagers has received approximately 25,000 calls and almost 26,000 texts since January last year, it has emerged. The service receives between 140 – 170 calls and texts a night, while an extra 1,100 calls and texts were received over Christmas. This is a significant increase on the numbers of teenagers contacting the service since 2015. “The number of calls and texts are continuously increasing which highlights the demand for the unique service TeenLine provides to teenagers and young adults across Ireland. It is hugely positive to see so many young people taking the first step with TeenLine to reach out and talk about their problems,” said Declan Brennan, Chairperson of TeenLine. “We’ve visited over 100 schools this year [2016] across Ireland to talk with students about the service TeenLine provides and their mental health. We have also enjoyed collaborations with other fantastic organisations such as Cycle Against Suicide, the Office of Children’s …

  IRISH rugby legends, Killaloe duo Anthony Foley and Keith Wood have put their shoulder to the wheel so to speak by endorsing the forthcoming Cycle Against Suicide. Both are happy to spread the message that ‘it’s ok not to feel ok and it’s absolutely ok to ask for help.’ The duo will be on home ground this Friday night at 8.30pm to lend their support to the Cycle Against Suicide at a press event in Wood Brothers, Main Street, Killaloe. This year’s cycle will take in the entire island of Ireland over the course of two weeks, stopping in Newcastle West, Limerick and Ennis on May 2 and 3. A large group of cyclists from Killaloe, led by locals Pádraig Egan, Timothy and Joss Lowry, will make their own mini-Cycle Against Suicide starting from Killaloe to Limerick on May 3.  There, they will link up with the rest of the pelethon at Crescent College Comprehensive in Dooradoyle.  At that point, up to …

LOCALS are being asked to make a “wheel” effort in supporting the upcoming Cycle Against Suicide, by opening up their homes to 300 participants. The cycle will be making its way through Ennis on Saturday, May 3 and organisers need homestays for the cyclists who have taken on the challenge to raise suicide awareness. Fr Jerry Carey, who is working towards finding places for the participants, along with training to take part in the cycle himself, said he is “absolutely confident” that the generous people of Ennis will answer the call. He explained, “Cycle Against Suicide is a national initiative that was started by Irish entrepreneur, Jim Breen, as a result of his appearance on The Secret Millionaire. The main objective of the cycle is to raise awareness of the considerable help and supports that are available for anyone battling depression, self harm, at risk of suicide or those bereaved by suicide. The cycle is more about promoting awareness than …