East Belfast Community Development Agency (EBCDA)

EBIAC provides an independent, confidential and free advice service to the community in East Belfast. We advise on welfare benefits, housing, employment, debt, consumer issues etc. We provide a drop in service from our centre and at 5 outreach venues throughout the community. We also provide telephone advice. A home visit service is available for those who are housebound. We have a dedicated debt advice service through Debt Action NI. We also provide accredited training opportunities to local volunteers who gain work experience by providing advice services to their own community. Our users are referred by family & friend s who have used the service and found it useful. EBCDA’s suicide prevention work aims to raise awareness of support services and encourage those at risk to seek help, to represent the needs of the community in East Belfast at a strategic level and to lead a community response when there is a death by suicide in our area. Suicide Awareness EBCDA is active in raising awareness of suicide prevention through a number of means. Suicide Awareness talks are available free of charge to groups across East Belfast and can be tailored to meet the needs and interests of the group. Topics covered include: Groups most at risk at risk of suicide; How to support someone who is having thoughts of suicide; Local sources of support for East Belfast. Information on suicide prevention and mental health promotion training is also available from EBCDA. We regularly send information on training opportunities and other events to our Suicide Prevention email list, to sign up to receive these please contact jean@ebcda.org. Every year EBCDA works with the SOS (Survivors of Suicide) Bereaved Family Support Group to organise meetings and other events to raise awareness of suicide prevention in East Belfast. These are open to the public and are publicised through our Suicide Prevention email list, Facebook and Twitter accounts.