Nothing is as frustrating or demeaning to someone with depression or difficulties as the feeling they are not being heard, the governor of Mountjoy prison, Mr John Lonergan, said yesterday. Addressing a conference on suicide and community responses to the issue, he urged people to ask themselves what they were doing as individuals to create an atmosphere, or environment, for hearing. "The type of society we have reflects us, not the Government, nor the media."
He said one of the most underused faculties in human beings was the ability to hear, as opposed to listen - be that in the context of families or society at large. "Hearing requires 100 per cent attention and concentration on the story of the other person, and that is a very difficult discipline," he said.
Mr Lonergan was speaking to more than 500 community activists from throughout the State. They had assembled at Dublin City University for the conference, organised by Active Age, the Dublin-based community group for the elderly.
Asked about follow-up services for prisoners released from Mountjoy, Mr Lonergan said there was an "appalling" lack of aftercare in the areas of homelessness, health and depression. One delegate questioned the governor's policy on compassionate leave. Mr Lonergan said he believed "with no exceptions" that if someone lost an immediate relative every effort should be made for that person to attend the funeral. But because of public response to certain crimes that was not always possible, he said.
Addressing the subject of suicide among older people, Dr John F. Connolly of the Irish Association of Suicidology noted that the two groups least listened to in society - young people and the elderly - had the highest suicide rates.