Action on suicide protest and Remembrance procession

national | miscellaneous | event notice Wednesday April 09, 2008 14:04 by Elisa O'Donovan - The Action on Suicide Alliance elisaodonovan at gmail dot com

The Action on Suicide alliance has arranged for a Remembrance Procession which will be held in Dublin on Wed April 23rd. The Procession is for bereaved families, friends, communities and associated groups, organisations and individuals that havelost loved ones and friends through suicide. The Procession will commence at 1pm at the Garden of Remembrance Parnell Square and proceed through Dublin City Centre to arrive at the Dail at 2pm where the Mandate will again be handed into Government.

Our strength is in our numbers.Walk with us!

The Action on Suicide Alliance was formed in 2007 to highlight the tragedy of suicide and to push for increased action by Government to reduce the numbers of lives lost. Current members of the Alliance include:
•3Ts (Turn the Tide of Suicide)
•Amnesty International (Irish Section)
•Bodywhys (Eating Disorder Association)
•Console •Irish Advocacy Network
•Irish Mental Health Coalition
•Let’s Get Together Foundation
•Living Links
•Schizophrenia Ireland
•SpunOut www.spunout.ie
•Teen-Line Ireland

In February 2007, the Alliance submitted the following Mandate to Government:
•Implement the recommendations of the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health & Children SeventhReport “The High Levels of Suicide in Irish Society” July 2006.
•Implement the recommendations of “Reach Out”, The National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention 2005-2014.
•Implement the recommendations of “A Vision for Change”, the Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy.
•Provide clear and transparent annual reports on progress on implementation of each of the above.
•Allocate a minimum sum of €10m for each of the next five years specifically for identified measures to reduce the instance of suicide
.•Establish a system for comprehensive, accurate and up to date data on suicide in Ireland.

Now another year has passed and little has changed with regrettably the number of lives being lost to suicideincreasing at the rate of ten every week. The tragedy continues.

The Alliance has now arranged for a Remembrance Procession which will be held in Dublin on Wed April 23rd. The Procession is for bereaved families, friends, communities and associated groups, organisations and individuals that havelost loved ones and friends through suicide. The Procession will commence at 1pm at the Garden of Remembrance Parnell Square and proceed through Dublin City Centre to arrive at the Dail at 2pm where the Mandate will again be handed into Government. The intention is that the Procession will be a dignified, silent procession led by a lone piper. Those attending may wish tobring a photograph of their loved one lost to suicide and / or a copy of the photograph or flowers which could behanded into Government. You may also wish to contact your local TDs to ensure they are present either on theProcession or alternatively at the Dail when we arrive.You are invited to join with us on this Remembrance Procession and to bring as many friends, relatives etc as possible.Government needs to understand that this tragedy cannot be allowed to continue. Our strength is in our numbers.Walk with us!THE ACTION ON SUICIDE ALLIANCE