President Mary McAleese is to launch a DVD on suicide prevention and bereavement this evening in Dublin.
A life 2 live 4: Suicide Preventionis intended for use in bereavement counselling groups, in professional and voluntary self-help groups, and in schools and universities.
President McAleese will launch the DVD in Dublin this evening.
It is accompanied by a booklet of guidelines for teachers, counsellors and facilitators. Both are designed to raise awareness of positive options in relation to mental health as well as promoting understanding of the impact of suicide on bereaved friends and family.
Narrated by broadcaster Gareth O'Callaghan, the DVD features young people who have been bereaved by suicide or who have suffered from depression. They share their coping skills and insights into how to develop a greater sense of hope.
Jean Casey, whose husband's death by suicide prompted her to become a counsellor specialising in suicide bereavement, also shares her story. Ms Casey was one of those who successfully campaigned to have suicide decriminalised in 1993.
The DVD was commissioned by Console, a charity set up in 2002 to support those bereaved by suicide and whose work has now expanded to include a variety of suicide prevention programmes.
The main aim of the DVD is to offer hope to anyone who may now, or at any time in the future, find themselves feeling down, depressed, suicidal or grieving the loss of a loved one through suicide.
Commenting on the DVD, the Minister for Health Mary Harney said it highlighted "in a very sensitive way the plight of those bereaved by suicide."
"Console's video takes a sensible and sensitive approach to the difficult issue of suicide and those who have been bereaved by it. People explain not only how they have suffered but how they have coped. There's help to be found here, and best of all, there's hope," said broadcaster and journalist Olivia O'Leary.
A life 2 live 4: Suicide Prevention
is produced by Kairos Communications and will be available from Veritas and Easons nationwide.