JUNE

Tough Times Campaign Launch
19th June 2007

The Tough Times campaign encourages young people to realise that it’s normal to experience difficult times and that, however small or big the problem there are help and support options available. The campaign is being coordinated by the youth-led SpunOut.ie charity

Ireland has the 5th highest suicide rate in Europe for the 15-25 year old age group. Death by suicide is the number one cause of death among young Irish men. This campaign aims to reduce the large number of deaths by suicide by raising awareness of the alternative options available to young people in crisis. It will use a combination of television advertising, poster campaign, online marketing and presence at festivals and concerts, radio, newspaper and magazine features to communicate its key message; that everyone goes through tough times and answers are out there.

Look out for the television advertisement which will air for 2 weeks from June 19th

This is Ian Howley's story.

"Over a year ago I became involved with SpunOut.ie. At the time, SpunOut.ie interviewed me in my position as President of the LGBT society in Letterkenny I.T. SpunOut.ie asked for my opinion on young men, mental health and suicide. It was a tough question because I was hiding something. I was hiding my past. I had never told anyone before about my three suicide attempts. I had never told anyone about my depression. Nobody. Not even my family knew about them. Within a few short weeks I was sitting in front of a camera and telling my story to a lad called James. As the interview went on I could see his mouth drop in awe. He was shocked at what I was telling him. So was I, because it was only as the interview started that I decided that yes, now is my time, I'm finally going to tell my story.

What a way to tell your story for the first time. What followed was in no other words, amazing. From that day on my life changed. A day in which I started out not even knowing what I was going to say to a day that changed my life. You see, all it took for me was a small bit of courage. That small bit of courage changed my life.

"SpunOut.ie listened to me that day. They listened to my story and now they have given me a voice. In the next couple of weeks, I'm going to use this voice to tell people that all it takes is a small bit of courage and it will change your life. "I got involved with SpunOut.ie to make a difference and to hopefully save a life. "We are going to make a difference. We will save lives. Tough times are exactly what they are. Everyone will go through tough times, but with a bit of courage those times can change. It took time for me to change my life, but what has happened to me can happen to anyone. We here at SpunOut.ie are going to make people realize that everyone has the power to change their life. Tough times can become better times.

The Suicide Prevention Forum has called SpunOut a valuable service for young people. Listening to Ian's moving story is testament to that.