A Fort William charity is launching a support group in an effort to tackle the rising number of suicides taking place in the area.
Following a shocking rise in the number of people taking their own life in the region, Lochaber Hope will launch weekly groups for men and women to come together and help each other through their problems.
The charity has recruited and trained 18 volunteers to take forward the groups and is now searching the town for a premises to hold sessions.
At an earlier community meeting to discuss setting up the the groups, people in attendance heard that an eight-year-old had approached the charity for help.
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Lochaber Hope’s development worker, Carrie Starkie, said: ” Figures from January 2018 to February 2019 show that 14 males and three females presented at Lochaber Hope as suicidal.
“And of 62 people who presented with risk-taking behaviour, 48 of these expressed regular feelings of wanting to commit suicide or being better off dead.
“Many people will know that the community meeting held in April was a huge success, it was powerful and inspiring.
“It was an emotive night for all those who attended, and the overall feeling was that the setting up of peer support groups is a desperately-needed and a hugely beneficial movement in Fort William.
“We now have around 18 members of the community who have come forward interested in training to be peer group facilitators and co-facilitators for the two groups.
“It’s full steam ahead. Now we just need to find a venue and then the groups can start making a powerful difference for our community.
“The premises would ideally be in a convenient location in Fort William with a room suitable for a flexible number of people that might like to attend.”
Ms Starkie pointed to national figures showing more than 680 people took their own life in Scotland in 2017.
The suicide rate for men, at 522, is three times higher than that for women, at 158.
Lochaber Hope said it had been contacted by 17 people who were actually suicidal in the last year.