SpunOut.ie Blog
SpunOut.ie wants you to Step up and Speak out
Blog: A fifth of gay people have attempted suicide.
SpunOut.ie is today calling on young people, and especially young Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender people, to speak out and follow the example of SpunOut.ie long time volunteer and Project Worker, Ian Howley.
Ian, 25, from Athlone, Co. Westmeath, is urging young people to start speaking out about their problems and to seek support. In his teens, Ian had to battle with his own sexuality, he faced a long and lonely path through depression and nearly lost his life to suicide three times. Ian recalls “When I first realised I was gay, I hated myself, I hated who I was and what I had become. I hated the way society looked at me and I felt like I didn’t belong. Unfortunately, I tried to take my life three times but it was only after finding an inner strength and accepting who I was that I could overcome my problems.”
This comes on the back of shocking statistics that a fifth of gay people have tried suicide.* Some 460 people died by suicide in Ireland in 2007, up almost 50 from the previous year. Four times more men take their own life in Ireland than in the UK, with men under 35 accounting for 40% of all suicides.**
Ian is currently running a LGBT Outreach programme in rural Galway and beyond, which promotes LGBT support services such as BeLonGTo, the Gay Switchboard and regional support services such as shOUT! in Galway. Each service provides a safe and open spaces for young LGBT people. SpunOut.ie is also offering young LGBT people information, support and a platform to get their opinions heard. SpunOut.ie aims to empower young people to make personal and social change. Ian adds: “In this difficult time, it is essential for young people to feel like they have support, especially in rural areas where the lack of support services is evident. The support these services provides is essential for young people to grow and to feel like they have a place in society."
Ian is urging young people throughout Ireland, to follow his example and to speak openly and honestly about what they are going through. He adds: “Only by talking about your problems can you overcome them. Over the last four years I have stepped up and spoke to millions of people about what I went through, as I felt it is a great way to make a real difference."
In summary, Ian said: “All it took was a small bit of courage and my life changed forever. I would love to see other young people following my example, to step up, speak out and to help other young people out there. If I can do this, anyone can.”
LGBT support services:
BeLonGTo is an organisation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) young people, aged between 14 and 23.
www.BeLonGto.org
Gay Switchboard provides a confidential telephone support service.
Phone - 01-8721055
www.gayswitchboard.ie
shOUT! Galway's LGBT youth groups
www.lgbtyouthgalway.com
Find support services in your local area:
www.SpunOut.ie/help
Further info:
*The study was carried out by the Children’s Research Centre in Trinity College and the School of Education at UCD.
**www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/report-suicide-prevention-plan-largely-ignored-414343.html#ixzz0I7N6SoFH&C
