GROWING UP IN Waterford, water sports have always been a part of our lives. In our early twenties my brother Declan and I began water skiing on the River Súir, and volunteering with Grannagh Boat Club.
In 2010, there was no dedicated search and rescue operation in Waterford city and county. Waterford is a popular coastal county, and with our passion for water sports, we thought we’d combine this, with our skills, to serve the needs of the city and county. We established Waterford Marine Search and Rescue.
Our mission statement was to provide and organise search and rescue on the lakes, rivers and tributaries in Waterford City and County 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. It was 2010, still in the depths of the recession, and it soon became apparent that many of our rescue operations were for people who had attempted suicide by entering the water.
Funding cuts
One of the effects of the recession, as everyone knows only too well, was the severe cut in funding, with mental health services being hit particularly hard. Aside from the great work of charities, there was no 24 hour service in Waterford; if you suffered with a mental illness, it had better only affect you between 9 and 5.
We had to do something about this, so we decided to establish a suicide prevention patrol system. This involves monitoring the quays of Waterford City – our land team patrols the quays, and we have a boat in the water ready to be called if needed.
The process is simple – our land team walk around the quays, and if they happen upon someone who looks like they are contemplating entering the water, the team will monitor them before making contact with that person.
Making contact can be something as simple as greeting them with ‘Hello, nice evening out’. We can usually tell by the person’s body language if they are in a mentally vulnerable state, and will chat to them a bit longer if we think it is necessary. Sometimes, we simply have to directly ask them if they were thinking of entering the water.
Almost one hundred per cent of the time the person is relieved when we speak with them frankly, and begins to open up to us. From there, we usually contact the gardaí and the ambulance services – as although every single one of our volunteers has received HSE suicide training, we’re not mental health professionals, and so the HSE takes it from there.
A few months ago, on a calm night at around 10pm, we observed a young male on a bridge on one of the quays.
We monitored him briefly, and despite making contact with him, he entered the water. I was in the boat that night and luckily we were close by and made it to the bridge quickly.
‘He had lost consciousness’
In moments like these seconds cost lives, and luckily, I managed to see the reflection of his face in the water, brought the boat up to where I saw him, and my colleague took him into the boat. He had lost consciousness.
We’ve since heard this young chap has made a full recovery. Since our establishment in 2010, we have saved 74 lives.
It’s not always a happy ending however, and we’re frequently asked how we have the drive to keep going.
In the case of the young man above, he’s had a second chance of life, a chance very rarely given. Even in the tragic cases, the effort and time we put in is made worthwhile when we see the relief brought to a family when we tell them we’ve recovered the body of their loved one. I enjoy being out in the water, and I enjoy helping people, and after four years I can’t imagine search and rescue not being part of my life!
The service we provide is entirely voluntary. When we’re not patrolling, Declan works with An Post, and I’m developing my own business making covers for boats. We have over forty volunteers, our oldest is in their 80s!
Training
We provide training in the skills necessary to work the boats as well as ensuring all of our volunteers undergo suicide training, and we work closely with wonderful organisations such as Samaritans and Pieta House. We’re currently trying to raise funds to build a dedicated search and rescue base in the city, which will also provide families of a missing person a place to rest and receive updates while a search is ongoing.
Further information on the work we do is available on our Facebook page and our website.
Darryl and Declan Barry were named ‘Volunteers of the Year 2013’ by Volunteer Ireland. Volunteer Ireland recently launched their 2014 annual awards with a call for nominations for this year’s ‘Volunteer of the Year’.
There are ten award categories, and anyone can be nominated, as long as they are a volunteer. Further information can be found here.
Helplines
Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
Console 1800 247 247 – (suicide prevention, self-harm, bereavement)
Aware 1890 303 302 (depression anxiety)
Pieta House 01 601 0000 or email mary@pieta.ie - (suicide, self-harm, bereavement)
Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634 (for ages 13 to 19)
Childline 1800 66 66 66 (for under 18s)
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say