Men accounted for nearly 80% of suicides last year and the incidence of self-harm amongst homeless people was 30 times more than the general population, new figures have revealed.
The latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the National Self Harm Registry Ireland figures reveal the real human trauma being experienced by so many people trapped in homelessness according to Merchants Quay Ireland.
The new figures also revealed that there were 591 presentations made by people who are homeless in 2017, an increase of 13% on last year.
Commenting on the figures the co-founder of the national homeless and drugs charity, Tony Geoghegan, said the self-harm figures released today reveal the real human trauma being experienced by people who are caught in homelessness.
"People who are homeless or in addiction are more likely to attempt suicide and have more mental health problems.
“When the most vulnerable in society are stigmatised and find that they can’t get access to services they desperately need, then we as a nation have failed.
“In Merchants Quay Ireland’s own services, we saw a 33% increase last year in people accessing our mental health services and a 55% increase in people accessing the GP service.
“There needs to be significant investment in our mental health and primary care services in Ireland, particularly aimed at people who are long-term homeless. These services need to take into consideration the often-chaotic nature associated with chronic homelessness.”
The 2017 annual report from the National Self-Harm Registry Ireland is now available to download here: https://t.co/Bbestwhriq #ConnectingforLife pic.twitter.com/PwHycfFrEv
— NSRF (@NSRFIreland) October 4, 2018
