Cork people urged to sign Pieta petition to make suicide prevention a priority  

Pieta, the suicide and self-harm prevention charity, has revealed that more than one in three people supported by its free therapy services are children and teenagers, as they called on Cork people to sign a petition to make suicide awareness a priority.

This year, Pieta’s No More Silence campaign is about making sure young people know Pieta is here for them, too, and they have asked the public to help raise the awareness and funds to keep Pieta’s life-saving services free for people of all ages.

Pieta is seeing growing demand for support from younger people in Ireland. More than half of Pieta’s clients are now aged under 25, with one in three under 18.

Among the under 18s coming to Pieta, 84% are experiencing suicidal thoughts and 70% are struggling with self-harm.

Reaching out

While these figures highlight the seriousness of the issue, they also show that young people are reaching out for help. Pieta provides free therapy to people in suicidal crisis, who are engaging in self-harm, and to anyone bereaved by suicide.

Between 2017 and 2024, Pieta recorded a 24% increase in clients under 18 presenting with self-harm. Within this group, the rise was most pronounced among younger teenagers: A 69% increase at age 12, 51% at age 13, and 75% at age 14. 

Active in each county across Ireland, the No More Silence campaign calls on the public to sign Pieta’s No More Silence petition to make suicide prevention a national priority, raise awareness of Pieta’s free services, and help fund its life-saving work.

Sobering reminder

Stephanie Manahan, chief executive officer at Pieta, said: “Over one in three people seeking help from our services are children. That is a sobering reminder of how urgently young people need suicide and self-harm prevention services, and why Pieta must be there for them.

“Last year alone, 2,433 children and teenagers came to Pieta, receiving more than 17,800 hours of free therapy. These services are free and life-saving and they exist thanks to the generosity of the people of Ireland.”

Pieta is calling on people across Cork to get involved by creating opportunities to have meaningful conversations with one another and signing Pieta’s petition to make suicide prevention a national priority.

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.