THREE hundred and three people died by suicide in Northern Ireland last year. What a shocking and shameful indictment of our society. I have seen behind the statistics. I have journeyed alongside mothers who lost a son to suicide, fathers who lost a son to suicide, women and men who lost brothers to suicide. Despite their huge losses they live their lives with the hope that things will be different for those of us still alive. I salute their courage and generosity of spirit.
It has been said that suicide prevention is everyone's business. I think it is time to change this hackneyed phrase to a bolder more meaningful one. I believe that suicide prevention is everyone's responsibility. Suicide recognises no borders or boundaries. It slices across every part and piece of all of our society, all of our people. My plea is to join together and shift our thinking away from suicide prevention towards the elimination of suicide in our society. The aim would be to look beyond 'an acceptable level of suicide' towards zero suicide.
