3Ts (Turn the Tide of Suicide) is a registered suicide prevention charity in Ireland. We work to raise awareness of the issue of suicide. And we aim to help prevent future suicide deaths through research, education & support.  3Ts receives no Government funding. So we rely solely on fundraising activities and donor support.

The charity was co-founded by psychiatrist & suicide expert, Prof Kevin Malone  MD, MRCPI, MRCPsych of UCD and SVUH., and Irish businessman & solicitor, Noel Smyth. It is driven by a core committee with expertise in fields of mental health, health administration, business & law, marketing & fundraising. The 3Ts team are passionate about suicide prevention.

What do 3Ts Do?

• Raise awareness of the issue of Suicide & Self-Harm;
• Campaign Government to address the issue;
• Raise funds to help prevent future deaths by Suicide;
• Fund Research;
• Provide 3Ts funding and support to organisations working in areas of Suicide & Self-harm;
• Deliver Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Training;
• NOSP approved safeTALK training provider (Suicide Alertness for Everyone)

The charity works to drive debate on the issue of suicide. We offer innovative solutions and highlight issues in an ever-changing space. 3Ts actively supports other mental health charities and organisations and commission ground-breaking research to aid suicide prevention. Where 3Ts have gone, others have followed. For instance, the charity was the first to:

• Call for collaboration amongst all organisations working in suicide prevention and related fields.
• Identify the need for a Suicide Prevention Authority.
• Call for 24/7 services for those in suicidal & mental health crisis;
• Highlight the legal requirement for “Mental Health & Safety” regulation in the workplace;
• Question financial institutions on their treatment of those in severe debt.

3Ts continue to question Government’s failure to implement existing suicide prevention policies.  As members of Mental Health Reform, we work with others in the sector to hold Government to account and to campaign for improved services.

Suicide in Ireland

When 3Ts was founded in 2003, Suicide was taboo. Services were under-resourced and under-funded and there was a knowledge vacuum.  Stigma is a barrier to both seeking help and to service provision. So, we saw the need to get the issue of Suicide out into the open and to help reduce stigma. Since then, we have continued working to raise awareness, and helping reduce stigma around suicide and mental illness.

Research is key to informing evidence based programmes and services.  So, 3Ts fund innovative research to help inform future suicide prevention strategies.

We have always called on Government to make mental health a priority in policy & statutory services. Today, some progress has been made.  Latest official suicide statistics (2018) show a decrease in suicide deaths over the past decade.  There has been progress too on stigma and on policy.  Ireland now has a gold standard national suicide prevention policy.  But, there is still a lack of resources and structures to implement these policies in full.

Meanwhile, rates of self-harm and the lethality of methods used are on the rise.  Suicide is not a problem that is going away.  It touches every community in Ireland. And we all have a part to play in helping prevent future deaths by suicide.

What do 3Ts do? Read more here.