PIPS’ new home

The First and deputy First Ministers have opened the new premises of suicide prevention charity PIPS in North Belfast. The charity was set up by Philip McTaggart who lost his son Pip to suicide 10 years ago. At the opening both ministers made personal speeches about suicide with First Minister Peter Robinson speaking of his family experience of attempted suicide and self-harm.

Martin McGuinness acknowledged the fact that Northern Ireland’s only suicide prevention charity receives no government funding at present and also related his own loss of close friends to suicide in recent years. He went on to say that he believed that suicide prevention was very much a cross-cutting issue that needed to be addressed by a range of government departments and agencies.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott, who has supported the charity in the past, also spoke at the opening of the new premises on the Antrim Road. The Chief Constable compared the issue of suicide to that of road deaths, which have been reduced to record lows and said that although any death is regrettable he believes that suicide will be reduced through similar efforts. He added that his officers are involved in the aftermath of suicides and they have learned a lot in dealing with such situations through their engagement with PIPS.

PIPS provides a range of suicide prevention programmes and supports over 480 families in coping with the aftermath of suicide. The charity is now based in many towns across the region, providing support to bereaved families and delivering training programmes.