Welcome for new national mental health support website for young Travellers

Sligo Traveller Support Group have warmly welcomed the launch of a new website by Pavee Point which provides support and advice for young Travellers on mental health. The new website was designed and created following a series of workshops with young Travellers and hosts an array of information relating to topics such as eating disorders, discrimination, alcohol, body image, depression, drugs, LGBT and self-harm amongst many others.

There are also sections for parents or other people supporting young Travellers while audio recordings are available on the site for anyone that may experience difficulties with literacy. Clinical information on the site was developed in consultation with the HSE and mental health voluntary groups.

Mental Health Worker with Sligo Traveller Support Group Jamie Murphy welcomed the initiative saying “The issue of poor mental health and suicide is something that impacts all communities. For the Traveller community, the rates of suicide are drastically higher than the general population with numbers at least 7-8 times higher. There has also been an increase in the number of young Travellers who have taken or attempted to take their own lives in recent months. There is a wide range of factors that contribute to these higher rates including poverty, marginalisation, living conditions, and generations of racism and exclusion in wider society that all need to be tackled at local and national levels. We would encourage young Travellers, their families, those working withing the community and indeed members of other communities to look at the new site as it will no doubt be a very valuable resource for those in need or struggling in any way."