Samaritans present suicide awareness roadshow

A drama road show highlighting the effects of suicide on families and their significant others is being staged in conjunction with Castle Community Association who were successful in acquiring funding from North Antrim Community Network under the Public Health Agency’s Promoting Positive Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Small Grant Programme.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Mar 2012, 09:58 BST

The Road show will be held on Tuesday 27th March at 7:30pm, at Castle Community Centre, Castle Street, Ballymoney, BT53 6JT. Admission is free of charge and it is open to all members of the public;

Terri Hendrie, Castle Community Association said;

“The aim of the play is to encourage people to think more about how their actions impact on others besides themselves and seeks to make the subject of suicide and its ripple effect a mainstream emotional health issue. The play is entitled “This Was Your Life” and is based around the format of the old TV show, “This Is Your Life”. It concentrates on the suicide of a young woman and how this tragedy impacts on her immediate family, friends and her doctor. It explores each person’s feelings on how they have been touched by her death and how they could maybe have handled this differently”.

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The play will be performed by Samaritan volunteers from the charity’s Belfast branch who are all serving volunteers and who perform the play over and above their normal range of duties within the branch. None of the cast are professional or even amateur actors. They are Samaritans first and foremost.

Formerly used exclusively as a training tool within Samaritans, the play was performed outside of the charity’s environs for the first time in 2007 at the West Belfast Festival to an audience of over 300 young people.

Alan Heron from Belfast Samaritans said:

“The play will highlight the ripple effect of suicide on family, friends and loved ones. It is intense and thought provoking and it will also highlight the unique 24:7 service that Samaritans provide for all our community – the ability of highly trained volunteers to provide non-judgmental listening in a fully confidential environment to anyone in emotional distress.”

The performance is ideal for families and friends affected by suicide and is also ideal for family support workers, befrienders, youth workers, church leaders, sports mentors, community groups, trainees and staff in medical/care professions and any other interested parties.

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If you wish to find out further information or to register your attendance please contact:

Terri Hendrie, Castle Community Association, c/o 50 Castle Street, Ballymoney, BT53 6JU. T: (028) 27664247 E: [email protected]