FirstLight
Established in 1976, FirstLight offers free professional support and provides information to families in Ireland that have experienced the sudden, unexpected death of their child if aged from 0 to 18 years.
overview
Established in 1976, FirstLight offers free professional support and provides information to families in Ireland that have experienced the sudden, unexpected death of their child if aged from 0 to 18 years. FirstLight is a trauma-informed organisation, offering a National 24-hour Helpline service, Crisis Intervention and a Psychotherapy service. Our services are provided nationwide by our team of professionally accredited, fully insured and Garda-vetted psychotherapists and counsellors. Our team members are professionally trained to provide support to clients experiencing trauma associated with the sudden death of their child. All of our services to families are free of charge and confidential.
where your money goes
All donations to FirstLight go directly to the provision of free professional counselling and support for the parents, siblings and families of children or young persons under the age of 18 who have died suddenly or unexpectedly.
history
On November 27th 1975, Eimear Berry discovered her fourteen-week old son Brendan dead in his cot, the death was silent, sudden unpredictable and of unknown cause – classic Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). In search of answers, Berry saw a TV documentary about SIDS which referenced the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) in England, whom Berry contacted in the hope of establishing a similar group in Ireland. On February 3rd1977 the Irish Sudden Infant Death Association (ISIDA) was formally established, cited its’ general aims were to increase public awareness of the problem of SIDS and bring pressure to bear on the appropriate authorities to supply the necessary funds and facilities for further research into SIDS in Ireland. From an initial membership of just fifteen bereaved parents, ISIDA grew into a national organisation establishing a national office (which operates from the Carmichael Centre, Dublin), set up a 24/7 emergency support helpline, assembled a national register of qualified professional counsellors to provide a range of services to suddenly bereaved families,
On July 16th 1987, the then Minister for Health, Dr Rory O’Hanlon TD, Fianna Fáil (FF), announced the formal establishment of the National Sudden Infant Death Register (NSIDR), which was established to promote and support research into SIDS and support the delivery of educational initiatives to help reduce the incidence of SIDS.
In 2012, further to demand for support by families bereaved suddenly in circumstances other than SIDS, the organisation changed its name to FirstLight and expanded its remit to provide support to families suddenly bereaved of a child up to 18 years. Thousands of families have been supported by ISIDA/FirstLight and 44 years on, we remain the only organisation providing such professional services to suddenly bereaved families, either within or outside of the State’s services.
Unit 28B,
+353 (0) 93 52467
