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Welcome to the quarterly Connecting for Life newsletter, updating you on activities relevant to Ireland's National Strategy to Reduce Suicide.
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Your Mental Health During Covid-19...
The spread of coronavirus in Ireland, and the related restrictions, have been new and challenging events for so many of us. They have impacted in different ways for different people, and not everyone will need mental health support as a result. Nevertheless, there is a wide range of information, supports and services available for those who do. Here are some items you might like to share;
- Helpful information on minding your mental health during the coronavirus pandemic, including for older people and younger people, here
- An overview of the HSE Psychosocial Response Project, currently working to build new frameworks and local supports for the general public, healthcare workers and more vulnerable groups, here
- Up to date mental health information for staff and healthcare workers, including the HSE staff helpline (1850 420 420), and online mental health programmes such as SilverCloud, here
- The introduction of the new National Bereavement Support Line (1800 80 70 77) from the Irish Hospice Foundation, in conjunction with the HSE, here
- Information on fully subsidised counselling sessions from MyMind, for people with mental health difficulties related to Covid-19, here
- The official launch of Text50808 - a free 24/7 text service, providing everything from a calming chat to immediate support for people going through a mental health or emotional crisis, here
- A list of many other services provided by organisations working hard to deliver supports in new and accessible ways - online, by text or telephone, here
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Since 2017, the NOSP Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Team have been using a monitoring system to track progress of the implementation of Connecting for Life. Quarterly progress reports (that outline milestones and their status) are published regularly, including most recently, for Quarter 1 of 2020.
Read more here
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Developed by the Connecting for Life Policy and Protocols Cross-Sectoral Working Group, Responding to a person in suicidal distress - a guidance document, aims to support staff and volunteers working in public-facing roles to interact with people who present or contact the service in distress or at risk of suicide and self-harm. The guide can be incorporated into staff induction packs or training manuals. It will inform and promote the use of standardised approaches across different settings. |
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A new online suicide prevention skills programme, is now available as part of a pilot inititaive from the NOSP. LivingWorks Start builds skills and knowledge to keep others safe from suicide, and uses a mix of guided online content, video and interactive questions. Irish residents, aged 18 and over, can now request a free LivingWorks Start licence, from local coordinators.
Read more here
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In May, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released Vital Statistics for 2019. This report includes provisional data on the number of deaths by suicide registered in that year. Updated briefing documents on this information are now available from the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention.
Read more here
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In March, the National Suicide Research Foundation published an interim report that provides a summary of data collected by the National Self-Harm Registry Ireland (NSHRI) for the period January to June 2019. The NSHRI is a national system of population monitoring for the occurrence of hospital-treated self-harm.
Read more here
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HSE Mental Health Operations together with the NOSP have published the report on Improving suicide bereavement supports in Ireland. This report sets out 10 core action areas that encompass 21 actions identified as essential for the improvement of suicide bereavement supports. The report also identifies the ownership of the actions that will allow for the improvement and sustainability of services in this area.
Read more here
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This month, the Department of Health published Sharing the Vision, a Mental Health Policy for Everyone - a successor to A Vision for Change from 2006. Sharing the Vision focuses on developing a broad-based, whole system mental health policy for the entire population. A large-scale consultation process informed the recommendations in this policy, and directly engaged a wide range of stakeholders, including people with personal experience, family members, community and voluntary sector groups and staff.
Read more here
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For a wide range of freely available leaflets, booklets, posters and postcards, on mental health and suicide prevention, visit the "Mental Health" section of www.healthpromotion.ie.
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Copyright © 2020 National Office for Suicide Prevention, All rights reserved.
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