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FIREFIGHTERS who have been at the frontline of dealing with suicide in #Limerick have donated their time and raised money for Pieta House because of their appreciation and understanding of the work the organisation does in Limerick.
Colm McCarthy, a firefighter with the Limerick City Fire and Rescue service was one of the crew that raised €1,653 from their fundraising BBQ at last year’s Riverfest.
“Down through the years, we have always run fundraisers and Pieta House is something that we are dealing with regularly,” he explained.
He said that call-outs to suicide or attempts are an all too regular feature for the rescue services.
“We are being called to people who are attempting suicide and we know of the service that Pieta House are offering, so we have often referred people in to them.
“Often we have found that people don’t know that the service is available to them and that was one of the reasons why we said that we would run a fundraiser for Pieta House because we think that it is a very very good organisation”.
Established by Joan Freeman, Pieta House is a non-profit organisation who help with the prevention of suicide and self-harm. They have a number of centres throughout the country including Limerick.
This year, firefighters are doing a ‘Mizen to Malin Cycle’ in aid of the ‘My Canine Companion’ autism service dogs.
