Founded out of tragic personal experience, Teac Tom is growing its services to people affected by suicide, with many farmers and rural dwellers seeking its support.

The Thomas Hayes Trust CLG was established in February 2014 by Angela Hayes, supported by her family, following the tragic loss of her husband Tommy in 2002 and her son Thomas in 2011, both to suicide.

At that time, Angela was unaware of the suffering within the community by others who had experience with suicide.

Angela and her son Alan were invited to speak on The Late Late Show in January 2014. They told their story of how their lives, and the lives of their family, had been impacted by suicide.

The overwhelming public response to their story showed the need for a community-based support system for people in crisis, Angela said. The seed was sown, and the Thomas Hayes Trust was set up.

The aim was to support the people of Co. Kilkenny who had been affected by or bereaved by suicide. In 2015, the doors of Teac Tom opened in Kilkenny city.

Teac Tom

“The centre provides a safe space for people to come to if they are struggling with their mental health and need to talk to someone. Here, they can speak to a trained volunteer listener or receive counselling sessions from our trained and accredited team,” said Angela.

“The services are offered free of charge but we ask, if people are in a position to do so, to make a donation. It allows us to deliver the service.

“We believe in a fair deal scheme where people can donate what they feel they can afford, and also give value to the support they receive in Teac Tom,” said Angela.

Teac Tom offers counselling services for those in need. It runs a 24-hour helpline, operated by trained volunteers. Play therapy, group therapy and family engagement support programmes are provided. There is also a drop-in listening service.

Outreach programmes are provided to schools, clubs and companies to raise awareness and provide support. There is also a mobile support unit where six counsellors can travel to a community where a suicide has occurred.

Teac Tom does not receive government funding and relies entirely on the support of people and businesses in the community to continue to provide its services to those who need them.

“We host a number of flagship fundraising events throughout the year, although these have been curtailed since the pandemic. We receive donations from individuals and businesses and encourage people to hold fundraisers, which raise both money and awareness for Teac Tom,” said Angela.

In numbers
24 counsellors provide six to eight-weeks of free counselling to service users; 80-100 hours of counselling are delivered every week; 600 phone calls are answered by its out-of-hours volunteer listeners every year.

There has been a 46% increase in the number of adolescents receiving counselling this year, compared to 2020, according to Angela.

“On average, one person registered to avail of Teac Tom’s services every day in 2021,” she said.

A second location

In 2019, through conversations with families impacted by suicide in Co. Laois, Angela opened a second Teac Tom centre in Stradbally.

The purpose-built facility has four counselling rooms, a children’s garden and an accessible coffee dock to facilitate a drop-in service and community coffee morning.

The centre is currently operating on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30a.m to 5:00p.m and by appointment with four counsellors working with clients.

Many people from farms and rural areas are availing of the services, according to Angela.

Teac Tom

“We had one farmer from Carlow who rang in floods of tears and who was with us within an hour of his call. Farming was going well for him, it was other life issues that were the difficulty,” she said.

“He got great comfort in knowing he could just walk in and get help straight away.

“Rory, the clinical manager, and myself have provided information talks to Macra [na Feirme], and other groups in rural parts of the midlands and the southeast. I attend fundraising events to ensure a personal connection with the families and friends of a loved one lost to suicide.

“The most recent tractor run was the ‘Rev for Trev‘, where we received a cheque for €5,500.”

Future

This type of fundraising helps keep Teac Tom going, Angela said.

“We are a very low-cost organisation and the money spent has a huge impact in the community. Our counsellors work at reduced rates and trainee counsellors work with the families,” she said.

“It is a huge struggle to keep going as keeping up with the growing demand for support is eating into the money we had built up before Covid-19 hit.

“We were hoping to buy a new premises in Kilkenny and we would also like to introduce a community garden for ongoing support.

“We would also like to facilitate rural parts of the country by having Teac Tom satellite centres – Teac Beag – so that people wouldn’t have to travel to avail of our services,” Angela said.

“The Teac Tom model is very simple and we are going to take part in a two-year research study that will validate the work we do and help us get funding. This model can then be replicated into other counties across Ireland.”