By Cianna McNally
A Crisis Numbers Contact Card was formally launched at a meeting of Co Monaghan Joint Policing Committee on Tuesday.
The card has the phone numbers of three garda stations in the county, Monaghan, Carrickmacross and Castleblayney, printed on it. It also has Monaghan Co Council’s contact details for housing, those of Tearmann Domestic Abuse Service, and the phone number of the Citizen’s Information Centre is also included.
Community Development Officer with Monaghan Co Council, Carol Lambe, explained that the card was part of an initiative undertaken by a sub-committee of the JPC following a presentation last year by Tearmann Domestic Abuse Service.
On behalf of Tearmann, Siobhan McKenna said it was great to be involved with the crisis card initiative. She commented that many women suffering abuse did not know where to go for information and this card brought all the relevant contacts together.
Ms Lambe added that these cards would be carried by gardaí and were small enough to be handed over to people discreetly.
“A card may save somebody a lot of grief down the line and it shows how the JPC can link with the supports there. I think this is a good use of JPC resources,” she commented.
JPC chairperson PJ O’Hanlon described the initiative as a very worthwhile exercise and he complimented all involved.
