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| Image c/o NUI Galway Students' Union |
The Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training course was due to take place in the college earlier this month but the initiative was scrapped as a direct result of HSE cuts brought on by the current economic situation.
The Students’ Union has been running the two-day ASIST course on campus once a semester since 2009, with 60 people attending annually. The course was provided free of charge by the HSE while the SU facilitated the enrolling of students.
Over the past decade, 25,000 people have been trained in the ASIST programme nationally, with 3,000 people taking part in the initiative so far this year.
Joanna Brophy, the course's co-ordinator at the university, has criticised its cancellation, saying it means dozens of students will now not be trained in suicide prevention skills. The HSE plans to deliver another ASIST workshop in NUI Galway in February 2013. "In the meantime we have worked with AWARE to bring the six-week free Living Life to the Full course to campus this semester," Ms Brophy stated.
A spokesperson for the HSE acknowledged "the great support" the organisation has received from the college's Students' Union in the past and blamed the ASIST cancellation on financial constraints imposed by the Government and the Troika. The body is seeking to save €26million in 2012 by making cutbacks in the areas of education, training and travel.
NUI Galway's Head of Counselling Bea Gavin has described the abandonment of the ASIST programme this semester as "very regrettable". "One of the great benefits of the training is that it encourages those who are concerned about vulnerable young people to talk to them openly about their feelings and to encourage them to seek help," she asserted.
In light of this development, the college’s Student Welfare Officer has called for increased mental health services at both local and national level.
Dami Adebari, who is also Vice President of the Students' Union, praised the counselling facilities available at the university and the success of their recent Mental Health Week but stated that more needs to be done to help those in trouble.
"When things get hard, we all have to take a hit," Mr Adebari stated. However, he feels the same rule should not apply in relation to psychiatric services - initiatives that have a proven track record of success. "These are people's lives at stake here," he said.
Ironically the SU has just announced that it has chosen a suicide prevention charity as one of the beneficiaries of its fundraising efforts during this academic year. Pieta House is a non-profit organisation that provides specialised treatment programmes for people who are dealing with suicidal thoughts or self-harming issues.
The charity plans to open its first western facility in Tuam next year. Some eighty per cent of their funding comes from public donations and the new centre is the result of an 18 month fundraising campaign led by local businessman John Concannon. The amenity will be located on Bishop Street and will serve Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.
"Suicide can happen to anyone and I want to ask everyone in NUI Galway to look out for their friends and classmates and get in contact with us if they think anyone may be in distress," Joan Freeman, Pieta House founder, stated.
For further details on NUI Galway's free and confidential counselling services, contact 087-6644299 or counselling@nuigalway.ie. Information about Pieta House is available here.
This article was also published in The Connacht Tribune and Student Independent News, NUI Galway's student newspaper.
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