Editors letter

Hello and welcome For this issue EM visited some of the charities who have benefited from ElectricAID Ireland to see what the additional funding has helped to do for charities associated with Suicide Prevention and Homelessness.

The visits with some of the committee members were a wonderful but also disturbing experience. The enthusiasm of the people we met for carrying out their work, mostly voluntary, was unbelievable. Many of them had intended to stay with this work for a short period, but were so committed that years later they were still deeply involved.

The locations we visited in Dublin, Sligo, Letterkenny and Derry were more than happy to show us the various projects that they either hoped or had already got underway, on the strength of the funding they had received from the ESB fund. It was hard to comprehend how they could survive without this type of charitable donation or the dedicated people who were involved. The visit which had naturally the most disturbing effect on us was the one to the Foyle Search and Rescue Centre in Derry. Looking around the base with the boats and the various lifting equipment which they use for their nightly vigil on the river had a profound effect on us all.

Derry had a very high suicide rate up until recently, but this has thankfully reduced somewhat. Thursday through to weekend are their 'busiest nights' – a statement which in itself sends chills down your spine. These are people at the coal face of suicide – who have to try and encourage wouldbe suicide victims to accept a life belt or who have to sadly to take bodies from the river.

On a lighter note, many thanks to you all for taking the time to complete our readership survey. We have received a huge amount of completed forms and we hope to bring you the results shortly. We are looking forward to implementing some of the ideas that you have taken the trouble to suggest.