PIPS Suicide Prevention Charity have teamed up with Foyle Search and Rescue in calling for urgent action to protect and fully fund mental health services in the North.
In 2024 alone, 290 registered deaths by suicide were recorded – a 31 per cent increase on the previous year. These deaths come at a time when government decisions to reduce or withdraw funding from elements of mental health provision have intensified concerns across the community sector.
Five years on from the launch of the Mental Health Strategy 2021–2031, only 16 per cent of funding had been allocated by the end of 2024/25 – a fraction of the £1.2 billion promised over ten years.
While strategies and frameworks continue to develop, frontline and community-based services remain under intense pressure.
PIPS Suicide Prevention Charity delivers suicide prevention programmes and direct crisis services, including walk-in support in North Belfast, telephone crisis response across our other locations, and a Friday-night crisis helpline when many statutory services are unavailable.
Renée Quinn, Chief Executive of PIPS Suicide Prevention Charity, said: "Every life lost is one too many. Right now, people in crisis are being failed by a system that is underfunded and overstretched.
"These are not statistics – these are mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters – and we are demanding immediate action to fully fund and protect mental health services before more lives are lost.
"Mental health support is not a luxury, it is a fundamental human need.
"Reducing funding, scaling back services, or prioritising policy frameworks without adequately resourcing frontline delivery places lives in jeopardy.
"Together, PIPS Suicide Prevention Charity and Foyle Search and Rescue are calling on government leaders to fully fund the Mental Health Strategy and publish clear delivery timelines with measurable milestones, so communities can see when — and how —lifesaving services will be protected, expanded, and sustained.
"Our campaign petition has already gathered over 5,000 signatures, showing the strength of public concern across Northern Ireland.
"We urge everyone to add their name and demand change."
