HUGG, the national suicide bereavement charity, is inviting people to join their new Donegal peer support group.
Anyone bereaved by suicide is welcome to the meetings in Letterkenny, every second Tuesday at 7.30pm. To join, visit www.hugg.ie
HUGG provides a free, safe and confidential environment where those bereaved by suicide can share their experiences and feelings, and receive and offer support to each other. All of HUGG’s peer support groups are led by people with lived experience of suicide. HUGG focuses on “postvention”, a specific form of intervention which is conducted after a suicide in recognition of the increased risk of suicidal ideation among the bereaved friends and family.
The meetings are facilitated by local members of he community, Valerie McLucas and Paul Grant, who participated in HUGG’s comprehensive facilitator training programme last year. Both have lived experience of suicide, a requirement of becoming a HUGG facilitator. This ensures a better understanding and appreciation of the emotions and trauma group attendees may be going through.
Commenting on the launch of the new group, Fiona Tuomey, Founder and CEO of HUGG, said, “We’re delighted to have such capable volunteers as Valerie and Paul, to facilitate a new HUGG support group in Donegal. We recognise that there is a real need for suicide bereavement support in the region. I know it will greatly benefit the local community here and I hope we can continue recruiting more facilitators in Ulster to extend our services into further counties.”
People can enquire to attend the group through www.hugg.ie or by calling 01 513 4048. The public can support HUGG by:
- Becoming a facilitator if the bereavement is over three years ago
- Donating online at hugg.ie to fund HUGG’s services and facilitator training programme
