Launch of Young Men and Suicide Project Report

Since March 2011, the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI - www.mhfi.org) has been working on an all-Ireland ‘Young Men and Suicide Project’ (YMSP).  This cross-Border initiative was jointly funded by the National Office for Suicide Prevention in the Republic of Ireland and the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland.  The grant was channelled through the Institute of Public Health in Ireland.

The aim of YMSP was to identify a range of possible means to promote positive mental health among young men on the island of Ireland, and to assess the effectiveness of these approaches.  The project entailed four discrete phases:

Phase 1 ...  A search of both academic literature and ‘grey literature’ to identify evidence of effective mental health promotion and suicide prevention work with boys and young men.

Phase 2 ...  Online surveys which sought to explore: (i) the nature of current mental health promotion and suicide prevention work on the island of Ireland with boys and young men; (ii) service providers’ perspectives on the challenges and opportunities when working with the target group; (iii) types of work that are being carried out with local young men in a range of contexts.

Phase 3 ...  Focus group consultations with: (i) key stakeholders from across the island of Ireland; (ii) young men from the target age group.

Phase 4 ...  Two practical pilot initiatives (one North and one South) that were based upon learning from the literature review and the survey / engagement phases of YMSP.

You are invited to attend the official launch of the report on the project which will be held on Wednesday 23rd January 2013.  We are planning two short launch events: one in Dublin and one in Belfast.  Each event will give attendees the chance to:

• Hear about the nature of the project and the key recommendations from it.
• Find out about the practical interventions that were implemented.
• Ask questions about this initiative.
• Get a hard copy of both the Full Report and the Executive Summary of it.

The Northern Ireland launch will ...

• Be held in YouthAction Northern Ireland, 14 College Square North, Belfast BT1 6AS.
• Begin at Noon and last until 1.30pm (including a light lunch).
• Include an address from Edwin Poots MLA, Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety.

The Republic of Ireland launch will ...

• Be held in the Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson Street, Dublin 2.
• Begin at Noon and last until 1.30pm (including a light lunch).
• Include an address from Kathleen Lynch TD, Minister of State, Department of Health and Department of Justice, Equality and Defence with responsibility for Disability, Older People, Equality and Mental Health.

PLACES AT BOTH EVENTS MUST BE PRE-BOOKED.  Please email your details (name, job title, organisation, email address, telephone number and any dietary needs) and the venue you wish to attend to Colin Fowler at colin@mhfi.org or phone Colin at 0044 751 9945261.

Copies of the report will be available online after the launch has taken place.