CIMS 2005 Annual Conference |
|||
The Annual Conference was held in Greenmount College, Muckamore on Saturday 24 September 2005. It was preceded by a service of Holy Communion in St Jude's Church, Muckamore. The conference
itself focused on the
twin themes of drug and alcohol misuse and suicide and self-harm among
young people. Delegates heard about
the levels of widespread human distress being experienced in both urban
and rural communities in Northern Ireland and the high incidence of
despair, suicide and self harming behaviour occurring in all
sections of the community Members
of the Society were particularly shocked to hear that the number of
deaths by suicide in Northern Ireland exceeds each year the number of
fatalities occasioned by road traffic accidents.
|
|||
One
of the speakers at the conference, John McClure (Irish Church Missions)
spoke about the 'Public Initiative for the
Prevention of Suicide and Self-Harm' (PIPS). He stated that there
was an average of 152 deaths by suicide every year in Northern Ireland
and that of the 1.6 million people in Northern Ireland, 80,000 will have
thought of suicide at some point.
|
|||
Exploding
some of the myths surrounding suicidal behaviour, Mr McClure said that such behaviour indicated deep unhappiness and a high level
of hopelessness, but not necessarily mental illness, as is frequently
assumed. It can happen to anybody and, although it is commonly believed
that those intent on suicide are least likely to speak of it, in fact,
most people who have died by suicide have talked to others about it in
the recent past.
|
|||
People frequently ask about the indicators that someone may be considering suicide. Mr McClure said these include:
|
|||
The
following speaker, Malcolm
Emery, Development Director of Rural Support, a rural family support
programme that has run since 2001, heads the Loughry College based
unit with a team of 17 volunteers. The
programme provides a range of services, one of which is a direct support
for those experiencing mental or emotional difficulties. "Rural
suicide is an issue," said Mr Emery. "Farm families are under
tremendous pressure. Families need help to cope with change,
particularly emotional support. "Mr Emery told the society that a more proactive approach was needed, with more open communication with those at risk. There was a need to develop a collaborative approach between groups offering support.
|
|||
The aim of the conference was to raise awareness of these
pressing issues across the Church of Ireland and to signal the
commitment of the Church of Ireland to undertaking specific initiatives
in this whole field. "Rapidly
increasing drug and alcohol misuse (including the misuse of prescription
drugs) and high rates of suicide among young men are major social issues
in both rural and urban settings in Ireland" said Bishop Alan
Harper, chairman of the society. The
Society registers its deep disquiet at this situation and particularly
at the totally inadequate levels of financial support made available by
government to address the situation. The
Society wishes to express support and admiration for the work of PIPS
and Rural Support and recommends that the work of these organisations
and others working in the same field be made more widely known. It
further recommends that Church of Ireland dioceses consider the
provision of special training to enable the creation of a pool of
expertise within the Church to provide information and. support for
clergy and lay people confronting manifestations of distress that may
result in self-harming behaviour. ------------------ After the conference members had an opportunity to visit the Millenium Walled Garden, the location of a recent gardening series on television |
|||
Useful websites: http://www.ruralsupport.org.uk |
|||
|