INSPIRATIONAL TEENAGER DÓNAL Walsh made a video to inspire struggling teens not to take their own lives – and it will be broadcast for the first time publicly tomorrow night.
The video will be shown on Brendan O’Connor’s Saturday Night Show on RTÉ One, while Walsh’s parents will also speak to O’Connor about their tragic loss.
A number of mental health professionals, suicide resource officers and youth groups have had input into the video to ensure the message was appropriate, and safe, for its target audience of young people, the HSE said.
A number of young people were also involved in providing feedback on the video and assisting with its development. The video was also developed in line with the media reporting on suicide guidelines.
Kerry native Donal Walsh passed away six months ago after a long battle with cancer. He was just 16 years of age but inspired many when he went public with his appeal to teens not to take their own lives.
He wrote an article on teen suicide and subsequently appeared on the Saturday Night Show to speak about the issue.
Following this, Minister Kathleen Lynch requested the HSE’s National Office of Suicide Prevention (NOSP) look at how Donal’s message could be used to support NOSP’s preventative work with young people.
The short online video is aimed at 15-19 year olds and includes footage of the original Saturday Night Show interview as well as an interview with Walsh at home.
According to the HSE:
Donal’s message in the video very much focuses on encouraging young people, who are feeling low or going through tough times, to talk to someone they trust and to seek help.
Since his death, his parents have donated funds to the suicide resource centre Console so that two rooms can be refurbished. The Walsh family have also set up the #Livelife Foundation in their son’s memory.
The Saturday Night Show will be broadcast at 9.35pm on Saturday. After the video is shown, it will be available on www.hse.ie/Donal and http://ie.reachout.com.
Helplines:
Samaritans 1850 60 90 90 or email jo@samaritans.org
Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634
Console 1800 201 890
Aware 1890 303 302
Pieta House 01 601 0000 or email mary@pieta.ie
Childline 1800 66 66 66
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