PIPS Suicide Prevention Ireland Charity is here to provide counselling and befriending support to individuals who are experiencing or have experienced suicidal thoughts or mental unwellness. PIPS Charity also provides support to families and friends who have been touched by suicide.
Our life saving services provide direct support to individuals who are in need. We offer a free, confidential counselling service, with no restriction on the number of sessions provided. We also offer a crises walk in service in Belfast and a crisis telephone service at other locations during our opening hours.
Please reach out if you or anyone you know needs help, you are never alone!
Background
PIPS Charity seeks to deliver Suicide Prevention and Bereavement Support Services including Counselling, Crisis Support, Complementary Therapies, Befriending, one to one sessions, mentoring and support groups, sign posting to support organisations and home visits across Belfast and throughout Northern Ireland.
The organisation’s origins are linked to the unfortunate tragedy of 14 young people taking their own lives over a short period of time and the coming together of a range of stakeholders compelled to try to address the issue. The organisation began, and very much remains, a community led organisation with a strong grass roots led ethos to suicide prevention and self-harm.
PIPS Charity understands that everyone is different and we need to be able to offer an appropriate service to cater for individual needs. PIPS Charity is one of the few, if not the only suicide prevention organisation that offers an open door service with no appointment needed.
Since our foundation we have strived to combat the high levels of suicide throughout the various communities in Ireland by providing help and support to those families bereaved through a suicide or self-harm. We do this through the delivery of suicide prevention and bereavement support services, 1 to 1 counselling, befriending services, advocacy support and complimentary therapies and our client led ‘no appointment needed’ service. This ‘no appointment needed’ approach ensures there is always someone to contact for a chat when a person might feel vulnerable, might be at risk of suicidal behaviours or is simply in need of assistance. PIPS is their light in the dark.
When a person comes to PIPS for help, they will be spoken to immediately and a stay safe/support plan will be put in place. We have an open door policy; you will not have to wait days or weeks to see a counsellor/therapist. In addition to providing this immediate support, PIPS acts as a gateway to other services. We provide a wrap-around service so that nobody feels alone.
PIPS also provide a range of bespoke training programmes in the form of workshops, which raise awareness and provide individuals with intervention tools and knowledge on topics such as suicide prevention, self-harm, eating disorders, self-care and befriending. To date, these programmes have been delivered throughout Northern Ireland to a wide range of groups, including coaches, secondary school students, universities, charities, community activists and a range of private businesses.
We’re extremely lucky to be supported by the community over the years. People have carried out numerous events and fundraising activities, giving us the vital funds that allow us to keep our doors open, and continue providing these necessary life-saving services. We as a charity do not receive any core funding and are able to stay open and functioning by every person in the street who lends a hand.
As the demand for our services continues to grow, the community support and belief in our services has never waned and it is only through the generosity of members of the public and sponsors that we are able to continue our services.
Here at PIPS Charity, we can guarantee that families who have lost loved ones and people in crisis will always be at the heart of our work and their needs will always be paramount in our service delivery.