A LOCAL suicide prevention group is on the lookout for charity partners as it aims to hire five full-time counsellors.
Dairy Farm-based West Wellbeing hosted breakfast at Urban Fire on Friday, where local businesses heard of their vision for an expanded mental health service.
The charity is hoping to raise £150,000 to help prevent suicides in the community. It is asking 50 local businesses to come on board for a fee of just £3,000 to make that vision a reality.
Seamus O'Prey from the Ortus Group, which helped West Wellbeing secure its premises said: "These guys have been working in this sector for a long time, and they're telling us some of the frightening statistics around suicide in our community.
"It's absolutely crucial that we have these community-based mental health services in West Belfast, to complement and work alongside the other organisations that provide this kind of service, but are probably overstretched.
"The fact that this has been so successful shows you not only the need for service, but also a serious need for government to invest heavily into mental health services, not only in West Belfast, but across the North."
SDLP representative Paul Doherty – who works in partnership with West Wellbeing through his food bank initiative, said: "What I've seen from our work together is that the fact that their work is allowing people to turn a corner when it comes to their mental health.
"Every day they're changing lives here in West Belfast.
"They've built this from the ground up and they have to be commended for their hard work and dedication to mental health in our communities."
Mr Doherty encouraged businesses to support the West Wellbeing appeal for charity partners.
"I've seen the impact they can have with no funding – imagine what they can do with funding," he said.
"As a community we all need to support them in every way they can."
