Relatives and counsellors are lobbying for more funding

Lenadoon volunteer counsellors and relatives of suicides interrupted an Eastern Health and Social Services Board meeting to lobby for more funds.

The Lenadoon project gets �60,000 a year, which covers counselling for 30 people a week, but it currently deals with 100 people in need every week.

Evelyn Gilroy told the board more money to deal with the problem was needed.

"With this meeting I had to be very personal, and had to speak about my own child, who took tablets with alcohol and died four years ago," she said.

"Suicide is a bigger killer than what drunk driving is, so you need to find the money from somewhere if you are going to take this seriously."

Board members assured the Lenadoon Community Counselling Service that its funding would not be cut, but said they were dependent on the government.

The volunteers and families of suicides in North and West Belfast have said they now want a meeting with new Health Minister Shaun Woodward and have already written to him.