Niamh and her mum Catherine

The charity was set up in February 2006 following the death of a local 15 year old girl who died by suicide. Niamh Mc Kee died in November 2005 and her sudden death sent shockwaves through the small rural community of Clonmore, outside Dungannon and the surrounding areas.

Niamh’s death stunned the local community, there was confusion and disbelief.  In the aftermath of her death it was soon realised that there was no support locally in the rural community for those who had been bereaved by suicide or even affected by suicide in other ways.

Services such as bereavement support groups were available in areas such as Belfast and Derry but there was very little here in the heart of Tyrone to help those who had been bereaved by suicide.

The needs of those living in the urban areas were somewhat different than the needs of those living in the rural communities in which we live in. Niamh’s family and members of the local community went on to set the charity up and four years on we are a fully constituted charity, with cross community trustees and cross community committee members.

As a direct result of the passion and vision of our founder members back in 2006 and the daily growing demand for our services, we now have 5 staff working across Tyrone and Armagh with resource Centres in Coalisland, Richhill and Cookstown.

Our mission statement is

to provide a safe environment where anyone can drop in to chat about worrying thoughts, thoughts of suicide and/ or self harm. The Charity will provide love, understanding and respect with a non judgemental listening ear to everyone regardless of age, sex, religion, or ethnicity.

 This mission statement applies to anyone who comes through our doors. There are no boundaries when it comes to suicide, it can affect anyone regardless of who they are, what age they are, where they come from or what they do. Suicide can strike anyone.

The main aim of the Niamh Louise Foundation is to work with a range of voluntary and statutory agencies to reduce the numbers of people taking their own lives in Northern Ireland and in order to do this the charity provides suicide awareness, prevention, intervention and postvention services across the areas of Armagh, Tyrone and further a field , particularly to rural areas, as very often rural areas can be very hard to reach and suicide is still very highly stigmatised in rural areas.

The charity provides suicide prevention by raising awareness of suicide and by tonight we are raising awareness of suicide. We provide groups and individuals with information through various sources of literature and training workshops on suicide and self harm.

By providing suicide intervention in the community the Niamh Louise Foundation staff and volunteers are fully trained to intervene with those who are most vulnerable and are at risk of suicide or self harm. All staff and volunteers are well equipped through ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and would apply these learned skills when someone who is high risk calls or drops in to the resource centres. Very often we are required to contact GPs and emergency services in order to get the person at risk as safe as possible as quickly as possible.

The Niamh Louise Foundation also provides postvention services. This includes providing support for bereaved families who have lost a loved one to suicide and support for those who have been affected by suicide.  This is done through monthly bereavement support meetings. The charity also provides complimentary therapy, mentoring and befriending for all those in the community who have been affected by suicide and also for those who are at risk and are in emotional distress and despair.

The Niamh Louise Foundation is contracted to provide the wrap around services for Lifeline, which is the regional 24hr helpline for those who are in distress or despair. This means that, when someone in need calls the helpline they are offered an assessment and are then referred out to community based services such as the Niamh Louise Foundation, for counselling, mentoring, befriending and complimentary therapy.

Niamhs Poem

“Remember”

My tears of sorrows have been cried
I really don’t need you to cry them for me
Instead, sing, laugh and dance… for me
Remember me, but don’t hold on too long,
Because you know i am waiting for you
on the other side

My tears of sorrow have been cried
I really don’t need you to cry them for me
Instead, create , write and draw… for me
Remember me, but don’t hold on too long,
Because you know I’ve had a great time
and don’t regret a thing.

My tears of sorrow have been cried
I really don’t need you to cry them for me
Instead, inspire others and teach… for me
Remember me, but don’t hold on too long
Because i have been taught and inspired and
learned from the best.

My tears of sorrow have been cried
I really don’t need you to cry them for me.
Instead Love and be Loved… for me.
Remember me, but don’t hold on too long
Because I Love you with all of my heart and
want you to be happy again and NEVER
forget how much I Love you.