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Suicide prevention charity opens first north west centre

Pieta House takes its name from the Michael Angelo sculpture The Pieta (The Pity) which is in St Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Pieta House takes its name from the Michael Angelo sculpture The Pieta (The Pity) which is in St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pieta House takes its name from the Michael Angelo sculpture The Pieta (The Pity) which is in St Peter's Basilica in Rome.

ONE of Ireland’s foremost suicide prevention charities will open its first north west office later today.

Just weeks after thousands of people took part in its “Darkness into Light” dawn walk to raise awareness of suicide, Pieta House will open its latest centre in Letterkenny.

Established in Dublin in 2006, Pieta House offers free-of-charge and freely accessible therapy to people considering suicide. It also offers services for people bereaved by suicide and those engaged in self-harm.

The new Letterkenny centre will include a manager, three clinical support staff, a team of therapists and a suicide bereavement liaison officer.

Danny Devlin of Action for Hope which fundraises for Pieta House said the north west office was opened in response to the increasing numbers of people in the region dying by suicide.

Mr Devlin said: “Donegal and the north west has a very real need for this vital service into the future.”

With Letterkenny as a hub, Pieta House will eventually hold clinics in locations right across Donegal.

“We need people across the north west to engage in the conversation around suicide and self-harm, to address the issues around body image, relationships, sexuality, identity and around colour and creed. These stigmas lead people to our doors,” Mr Devlin said.

Pieta House’s new centre at Grand Central Building, Canal Road, Letterkenny can be contacted at 00 353 74 9126594.