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Renfrewshire Council Plan 2008 - 2012 Special service will remember victims of suicide
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A special memorial service will be held in Paisley for families and friends to remember loved ones who have lost their lives to suicide.
The short commemorative service will take place at the Suicide Memorial Tree outside Renfrewshire House on Cotton Street, Paisley.
The tree was first dedicated in 2010 as a permanent memorial to those who have died through suicide and is believed to have been the first of its kind in Scotland.
Renfrewshire’s Provost Celia Lawson will lead the service, joined by Stephen Baillie from St Charles Church, Reverend Alan Birss of Paisley Abbey and members of the Survivors of Bereavement Through Suicide (SOBS) group.
Members of the group, along with members of the public, will be invited to place a heart with personal messages on the tree as a tribute to their loved ones.
The tree will be lit up at night and is there for anyone who has lost someone through suicide to visit throughout the year.
Provost Celia Lawson said: "This service is for anyone who has lost someone to, or whose life has been affected by, suicide. It is a way of remembering those we have lost and to encourage people that suicide is something we shouldn't shy away from and not talk about.
"I am proud that here in Renfrewshire we have this tree as a memorial where loved ones can go throughout the year."
The service will be held on Thursday 19 January. Friends and relatives are invited to meet at the Marriage Suite at Renfrewshire Council’s head office from 3.30pm in order to collect a commemorative purple heart on which they can, if they wish, write a message and the name of their loved one. At 4pm everyone will gather at the tree where a short service of dedication will take place followed by an opportunity to place the purple hearts on the tree.
Following the service, all those attending are then cordially invited to join the Provost, the local support group and the Choose Life team for light refreshments in Paisley Abbey.
The Renfrewshire SOBS group meets on the last Tuesday of every month from 7pm until 9pm in the Charleston Centre, Paisley. For more information about the group please contact Rosemary Mullan on 0141 849 2200.
For advice please call the SOBS national helpline on 0844 562 6855.
Alternatively you can call:
Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87
Or
NHS 24 on 08454 24 24 24
Press release issued: Wednesday 11 January 2012
