Protesters gathered outside the Tynwald building today (October 20) to call for urgent action from the Isle of Man Government on mental health and suicide prevention.
The peaceful demonstration was organised by ManxPACT, a community group campaigning for improved mental health support and action to address suicide on the island.
ManxPACT stands for Manx People Actioning Change Together.
Protesters held signs reading: ‘It’s not ok. To lose people that we could have helped. We need action on suicide prevention and better mental-health support.’
Another read: ‘Your voice can make a difference. Everyone welcome. Stand with us.’
The demonstration was led by Juan Moore, who founded ManxPACT just over three years ago.
He said: ‘I struggled with my own mental health, and when I went to the doctor's suicidal, I found the experience overwhelming and horrific. I at that stage, when I went to the doctors, I didn't want to live, and I want when I left the doctors, I still had that in mind. But the doctor said to me, "I'll book you back in two weeks' time”, and that's what stopped me from doing what I really wanted to do.
‘As I got better, I wanted to help other people, make sure no one went through that experience again. So ultimately, I set up ManxPACT, which was to give support to people who are struggling. Unfortunately, the services on the island are totally inadequate for the crisis we've got here, and that's what I want to address, in particular the suicide problem, which is horrific.’
Mr Moore called for immediate funding for a properly functioning crisis team, claiming more than 50 people had died by suicide during the previous parliamentary term.
He urged the new parliament to prioritise mental health and suicide prevention from the outset, saying the loss of around 12 people to suicide each year was ‘just not acceptable’.
He said people experiencing suicidal thoughts needed time to speak to someone who would listen, understand their circumstances and take action to help them.
Jessie Quirk, 18, also attended the protest and has spoken openly about his own mental health struggles.
He said: ‘When the resources fail, the community is all that people are struggling have, and it's really nice to be able to see loads of people come together to try and get some more answers and some support from the government and make it so that there's easier access to things to help aid people's recovery.’
Fellow protester Carol Smith explained why she had joined the demonstration.
‘It's close to my heart. I've lost quite a few friends this year already, and I'm also mentoring a friend who lives on the island and a young lad across as well. Thankfully, so far they've come through, and I've referred them to other services as well.’
She added: ‘Something needs to be done. Mental health services have gone downhill on the island. They need to go back up. They need to be trained better to listen to people because when people contact them, they want someone to listen. They're crying out.’
Ms Smith called for a review of mental health services to assess their performance and identify improvements. She said that even helping one person could make a difference.