Asda Enniskillen teams up with suicide prevention charity to provide support service
We've teamed up with PIPS Suicide Prevention Ireland to launch a free mental health counselling service in the community rooms at our Enniskillen store.
The services are open to all ages, offering one-to-one sessions for those in need of support.
The community-based charity supports positive mental health, delivers suicide prevention and bereavement support services, one-to-one counselling, befriending services, and advocacy support. PIPS is a self-referral non-profit organisation, that is funded by generous donations from the local community.
To make an appointment, contact PIPS Suicide Prevention Ireland on 0800 088 6042, 02866 339004, or by emailing [email protected]. Their team will be in the store from 2-8pm on Tuesdays, 10am-4pm on Wednesdays, 10am-3pm on Thursdays, 10am-3pm on Fridays and 10am-1pm on Saturdays.
Renée Quinn, Executive Director, PIPS Suicide Prevention Ireland, said: "We are taking significant steps to broaden our reach across Northern Ireland to better support mental health as a whole. We want to ensure that if someone reaches out to their GP or us with mental health problems, that they can get appropriate, timely, professional, and effective psychological support immediately.
"With the restrictions on funding for mental health, quick referrals are not always possible. We believe that clients should continue their journey with us for as long as it takes to go gently at their pace on the way to recovery.
"We want everyone to feel comfortable telling us when they are feeling mentally unwell, just like they would if with a visible physical ailment and receive the care from us that they deserve."
Erin, a client of PIPS, says she has benefited from counselling sessions from the service.
She said: "You cannot put a price on a person’s life. There is nothing that PIPS will not do for you – I feel as though they are breathing life into me and helping me breathe. Thanks so much."
Simon Harron, our Enniskillen store's community champion, says everyone at the store is proud to be able to support PIPS' work.
He said: “It's a great pleasure to offer our training room to support PIPS – the work they do is fantastic for those in need, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sadly, the numbers have increased recently therefore it is vital we get help for those in need. It is so important that the local public who are struggling are made aware that there is always someone to talk to and that they are not alone."