Helen McEntee, TD Minister for Mental Health and Older People visited Pavee Point today and heard about the serious mental health issues facing Travellers:
· A suicide rate that is 7 times greater than the national average
· Factors contributing to poor mental health among Travellers – unemployment, poor accommodation and discrimination
· Barriers to mental health services
Our Men’s Mental Health Worker, Patrick Reilly spoke about the need for targeted services for Travellers and for Traveller voices to be heard within Minister McEntee’s Department.
Traveller Community Health Workers from our Primary Health Care Project spoke about the ongoing stressful challenges facing Traveller families on a day to day basis.
Minister McEntee agreed that the statistics on Traveller mental health are shocking and that more needs to be done.
