Suicides are our warning: Dundee’s Lord Provost

Dundee’s Lord Provost today questioned whether society had lost its ability to care for the vulnerable following the tragic suicides of four young city men (writes Graham Huband).

John Letford said he had been left wondering what was so wrong in our communities that so many people were finding themselves contemplating self-harm and suicide.

Mr Letford said the deaths this month of four young Dundonians — Anthony Riddell (17), Ragan Thomson (18), Scott Nichol (22), and Steven Loftus (23) — were individual tragedies but were a collective warning of what can happen when people become isolated and cannot see a way around their personal problems.

The Lord Provost said he was concerned society was turning a blind eye to the vulnerable — the local Samaritans branch receives hundreds of calls from suicidal individuals every year — and said it was vital those who were suffering were not ignored.

The city’s civic head said he had written to council chief executive David Dorward to see what the authority’s various departments — but specifically the social work section — were doing in relation to suicide prevention and awareness in the city’s communities.

Mr Letford said the unnecessary loss of any life was a terrible waste and said his heart went out to the families of the four young men who had died.

“It is always tragic when you get a loss of young lives like this. My thoughts are with the families, the parents and grandparents and I send my condolences,” he said.

“It is particularly sad that people take their own lives.

“So many people are left asking ‘Could I have helped? Did I do enough?’

“Because of feelings like that I have written to the chief executive to ask if, in addition to the police inquiry, our relevant departments are looking at likely causes of how it happened and any steps we can take.”

In his letter, Mr Letford said he had been concerned and saddened by the recent suicides and said there seemed to be a “dangerous trend of events”.

He also asked what the council was doing to help prevent further tragedies.

Speaking to The Tele today, Mr Letford said suicide was an issue that affected all sectors of society and it was imperative that people displaying signs of distress, isolation or anxiety were reached before it was too late.

“It is not only young kids — there are older people out there that feel they’ve just had enough and cannot go on,” he said.

“Are we as a society vigilant enough, are we seeing the warning signs and doing something about it?

“Maybe we are not caring enough and are ignoring it.

“Prevention is always better than cure and the message has to go out that there is always somebody to speak to, somebody to help to bring you back from the brink.”

A spokesman for the council said today, “The chief executive will give a personal response to the Lord Provost in due course.”